Identity Crisis: The Very Beary Tooth Fairy by Arthur A. Levine

ZACH'S MOM TOLD HIM TO STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE

"THEY'RE DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE," SHE WARNED.

AND ZACH DID AS HE WAS TOLD.

But Zach is young and curious, and one day he eavesdrops on a family of humans camping not far from his den and hears the mother tell the little boy to leave his loose tooth alone and wait until it comes out by itself so he can leave it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.  Since Zach, too, has a loose tooth, he now has a serious question:

IS THE TOOTH FAIRY A PERSON OR A BEAR?

Could the sweet tooth fairy be one of those "dangerous and unpredictable" people his mom warned about?

His older sister is vague, saying it "depends." Mom tells him not to worry about it, but Zach can't help himself.  He's certain that the Easter Bunny has to be a rabbit. He's pretty sure that Santa is a bear. But who is this tooth fairy? Mom says something that is absolutely no help:

"A BEAR CAN BE ANYONE, AND ANYONE CAN BE A BEAR."

Should he be worried?

And when his loose tooth finally comes out and Zach faces bedtime with his tooth under his pillow, he finds it hard to fall asleep. What will this famous tooth fairy be?

Arthur A. Levine's new The Very Beary Tooth Fairy (Scholastic, 2013) pictures the concerns of youngsters waiting for their first transaction with the fabled tooth fairy perfectly, and although Zach's experience turn out to be reassuring for little bears, this charming little beary fairy story leaves the mystery  intriguingly open for young humans. Sarah Brannen's illustrations are done in a comforting pastel palette, with an appealing ursine protagonist to do the pre-tooth-fairy worrying for the young reader. Pair this one with Lucy Bate's and Diane deGroat's classic Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth for a duet of loose tooth tales.

Toy Story, Too: My Special One and Only by Joe Berger

CAPTAIN CAT WAS BRIDGET'S SPECIAL ONE AND ONLY AND EVEN IN HER DREAMS SHE HELD ONTO HIM.

But Bridget Fidget's dreams that night are all about the Tooth Fairy, who comes through with a gold coin in exchange for her first lost tooth. Bridget knows that money in her hand means she gets a trip to the world's best toy store, DingleBang's, and soon she pops her gold coin into the sailor-suit pocket of her beloved plush buddy, Captain Cat, pops him into her backpack, and bounces off with her mom for an epic shopping trip.

But in a Rube Goldberg comedy of errors, things go terribly wrong at DingleBang's. As Bridget Fidget spizzooms through the dazzling store, the handle of a lady's umbrella hooks Captain Cat, depositing him almost immediately into the shopping basket of another little girl. It's love at first sight when the girl lays eyes on the cutesy Cat, and by the time Bridget notices what's happened, that girl has bonded with her one and only special toy!

CAPTAIN CAT WAS 100% NOT THERE!"

"NOOOOOOoooooo!"

Suddenly Bridget Fidget forgets about new toys and concentrates on recovering her old One and Only. Bridget gets some help from a serendipitous knight-in-shining-armor, a.k.a. Billy, in a shiny and swift toy car who gives her a lift in the chase to recover Captain Cat. There is many a comic twist before B.F. and her BFF Captain Cat are reunited, in an action-packed climax, but when the dust settles, the two are back together, and calm is restored when Bridget uses some of her tooth-fairy loot to buy the disappointed little girl a charming cat toy of her own, buoyed by the discovery that her revenue stream is intact as she discovers a new, loose and wiggly tooth.

With the visual punch of a fast-paced 1970's cartoon chase, complete with sound effects (YIKES! SCREECH! KABOOF!), Joe Berger's My Special One and Only (Dial Books, 2012) is a funny and fantastical romp in this second outing for his frenetically energetic heroine. (See Berger's earlier Bridget Fidget and The Most Perfect Pet).

Too-Loose Tale: Fancy Nancy and the Too-Loose Tooth by Jane O'Connor

FIRST LIONEL WASHES OUT HIS MOUTH.

THEN THE NURSE HANDS LIONEL A WHITE PLASTIC TOOTH ON A CHAIN.

POP! THE TOP OPENS. IN GOES THE TOOTH.

FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, LIONEL WEARS HIS NECKLACE.

I LONG FOR A TOOTH NECKLACE TOO. (THAT MEANS I REALLY WANT ONE.)

Nancy is a girl who appreciates the importance of accessories. And suddenly she realizes that that tooth necklace is the accessory du jour in Ms. Glass's class.

Nancy feels a twinge of envy as she watches Lionel show off his prize to the whole class. But she's got a loose tooth, too, a little bit loose, and she sees that all she has to do is to make sure that she loses that tooth at school and that wonderful accessory is hers!

Nancy does what she can to make that happen.

I WIGGLE IT A LOT AT SCHOOL

AT HOME I DO NOT WIGGLE IT AT ALL.

At home Nancy sticks to soft foods, like bananas. She turns down Dad's offer to pull the tooth for her. She even tries not to talk. Soon the tooth is just hanging in there by the proverbial thread. Nancy tapes it in before bedtime and even tries to sleep with her mouth open. Finally, she on her way to school, the tooth still tentatively attached. This will be the day she gets that necklace for sure. Then...

"AH-CHOO!"

The tooth falls out and onto her tongue!

Oh, no! Nancy sees that really cool necklace receding into limbo. She was so close.... almost at the school door!

But wait! The tooth is still technically IN her mouth, right? If she leaves it there, on her tongue, until she is inside the door, does that count? And is that honest?

Jane O'Connor's latest Fancy Nancy I-Can-Read book takes our favorite fashionista through another major milestone of the primary school years in Fancy Nancy and the Too-Loose Tooth (I Can Read Book 1) (Harper Festival, 2012). O'Connor's subtle writing reveals Nancy Clancy's foibles and her best nature alike as she navigates this transition with characteristic style in this on-target entry in the beginning reader category.

Back to School: Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth by Alison McGhee

I have a secret....

First grade begins today and I'm in big trouble.

It's a known fact that Mrs. Watson, the first-grade teacher, is a 300-year-old alien who steals baby teeth from her students.

How do I know? A second-grader told me.

Upper graders are all queens and kings of hyperbole when it comes to warnings for younger kids about school. And the worrywart heroine from Countdown to Kindergarten now has first grade to fret over, especially her teacher, said to be a purple-tongued, baby-tooth grabbing alien. And to make things worse, she HERSELF has just discovered her first LOOSE TOOTH!

Our girl decides that her only defense against the innocuous-looking Mrs. Watson is to keep her mouth firmly closed all the way through first grade.

This proves to be hard duty.

She can't open wide to sing, and she loves to sing.

She can't take part in Show and Share Time.

She can't volunteer to count backwards from ten to one, and that's her specialty.

She can't even have a snack at snack time.

But when Mrs. Watson asks the dreaded question, "Does anyone have a loose tooth?" our girl watches with horror as the boy in front of her opens wide to show off his wiggly incisor.

"MMMMMMMM!" she vocalizes, trying to warn him of the approaching danger. And then as Mrs. Watson draws closer, holding out her reputedly deadly TREAT BOX, our altruistic heroine just has to save him from his fate!

"NO!"

And the power of her warning forces her own loose tooth right out of her mouth and into Mrs. Watson's hand.

"Oh, my! I wasn't expecting THAT!" says Mrs. Watson.

("Neither was I," thinks our girl!)

"Class, we have a WINNER!" says Mrs. Watson.

And from inside that mysterious treat box Mrs. Watson extracts a giant "Twenty-Year" lollipop as the prize for the first lost tooth of the school year, a treat which our heroine proudly shows off to that inventive second grader as she takes the bus home after her first day in first grade.

Alison McGhee's Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth is a great cautionary tale for taking those word-of-mouth warnings from older kids with a bit of healty skepticism. As in their earlier collaboration, Harry Bliss' humorous illustrations provide quite a few chuckles as the story progresses. For example, book posters on the wall in the first grade hall include HARRY PLOTTER AND THE HUGE CAVITY, LIFE ON THE ROAD by The Tooth Fairy, FLOSS THROUGHOUT THE AGES by D. Cay, and, ominously posted beside her door, MRS. WATSON'S LOST TOOTH GALLERY, with photos of anxious gap-toothed kids.

It's a reassuring read for that worrisome countdown to the first day of school, with illustrator Harry Bliss expertly adding to the fun.