Open Wide: Tooth School Inside

by Laurie Keller

From the author/illustrator of The Scrambled States of Ame rica, here is a fun-filled introduction to teeth.

"Before the principal's announcements, will you all please stand and recite our 'I pledge allegiance to this mouth and to the dentist who takes care of us. And to the gums on which we stand, strong and healthy, with toothbrushes and toothpaste for all.'"

It's time for tooth school and Dr. Flossman is excited to meet the incoming class of 32--eight incisors, four canines, eight premolars, and twelve molars, including the four wisdom teeth. There's just so much to learn--from brushing and flossing to dentin and pulp to every student's tooth decay!

Best read with a toothbrush in hand, this hilarious book is full of interesting facts (for instance, George Washington's teeth were not made of wood, despite popular belief) and a classroom full of quirky characters. Young readers will laugh their way to a better appreciation for those pearly whites that beckon them to brush. And from there it's just a short hop to flossing.

This title has Common Core connections.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Health, Science, Humor, School

40 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

Laurie Keller grew up in Muskegon, Michigan. She always loved to draw, paint and write stories. She spent much of her time performing in a local dance tour company and dancing in and choreographing some civic theatre shows.
She graduated several years later with a BFA in Illustration. She also got a job as a greeting card illustrator at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri. She is the author and illustrator of many children's books.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One day, when my niece was in kindergarten (4 years ago now!), the dentist came to school and taught the children about dental hygiene. I would have a hard time believing that any child has come away from the dental hygiene unit as excited as my niece. She came home and drew a person with an itty bitty body and an enormous head full of teeth, along with his huge red toothbrush overflowing with toothpaste. She used her little two minute timer diligently (until her conscientiousness kept causing her mother to miss the bus). From that day to this, my niece has maintained that she wants to be a dentist when she grows up. Or a demolition derby driver. Apparently she's keeping her options open.

I checked out Open Wide : Tooth School Inside for my niece knowing that she would think it was great. She enjoyed this book a great deal, especially the pages in which she learned what teeth are made of, what each type of tooth is called and what those teeth do when we eat (incisors cut, canines tear, premolars crush, and molars grind), and she enjoyed learning what baby teeth are good for (more than one might expect).

The book probably sits at about 3.5 stars for me, because it isn't an easy book to read aloud. The pages are packed with text that runs unbridled all over the pages, illustrations that are popping with detail, and all kinds of funny little bits that are easy to miss in a read aloud situation. This is a book that works best when time is taken to really examine each page. There is a lot of good, entertaining, and informative stuff here, though, and I do hope that this book will at least help to influence my niece more toward dentistry, and less toward her more recent consideration of career options in the world of junk car mash ups.

[DeannaReadsandSleeps]

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS BOOK!!! loved this as a kid! i read it every day for weeks!!! 💕🥹

[Amber Epps · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read Open Wide Tooth School Inside by Laurie Kellie, a children's picture book. This book has not won any awards but is intended for young readers ages 4-7.

The story is about animal students attending the Open Wide Tooth School to learn about dental health. The book takes the child reader through a day at the school, where they learn about brushing, flossing, and how different foods impact dental health.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The colorful and engaging illustrations would capture a young reader's attention. The plot effectively taught an essential message about the importance of dental hygiene. The characters were memorable and relatable to young children, making the book even more appealing to them.

The use of language was perfect for the target age group. The words and sentences were short and easy to understand, making it an excellent book for beginner readers. I believe this book would be interesting to young readers because it's educative and entertaining.

As a teacher, I can use this book to instruct children about dental hygiene, especially during a science lesson. Young readers will find this book a fantastic addition to their learning experience. I would highly recommend Open Wide Tooth School Inside to young readers.

[Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book back at the turn of the century! Such a fun read. There’s so much going on in the background and foreground of book that keeps the reader busy and exploring their imagination. I fondly recall how delicious the school lunch time food and snacks looked! There’s of course the oral health educational aspects supplemented that further adds to the books charm.
Definitely should be a classic in western picture books.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Laurie Keller book that doesn't disappoint! Our whole family loves her humor and all the little characters that she adds to each page that have little side comments. This book was a perfect supplement to our study of the body and dental health. It taught/reinforced some facts while making us laugh!

[Diana Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of information! Great illustrations- there's so much going on within each page! Recommend for school age children.

Reviewing teeth themed books for a 2s & 3s story time at library on Nov 1, National Brush Your Teeth Day. (This one is a pass, but only because it wouldn't fit attention span and information input level of toddlers/ preschoolers.)

[Elaina Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this Book! The illustration made the reading so much fun. Such a good way for students to learn about keeping their teeth clean. Fun characters were created and The story was made to be repeatable for kids in school.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quarantine reading. I was surprised by how interested my toddler was in this book. It is definitely too old for her, but she really enjoyed the tooth characters and did learn a bit about dental hygiene. No arguments about brushing her teeth that night. Yay!

[Chloe Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so interesting! I loved it!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun way to learn the basics of teeth.

[Karla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kids may like this and it may be great for home. But, it's varied format, varied text and illustrations make this a difficult read aloud. Not at all recommended.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with lots of dental information presented in an engaging manner.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept but the illustrations creep my out. I appreciate the novel way to teach about the teeth and oral hygiene, and the humor. It just was a little too drawn out for me.

[Little Champs]

2909

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much Middle School humor for me. I liked the roll call page and the sticky food page.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn facts about teeth and tooth jokes that will rot your teeth they're so sweet.

[Ma Len · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids love this book!

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super funny and informative! Loved the illustrations.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book pretty strange, but my kindergartener loved learning more about incisors and plaque - and has repeatedly told me how wise wisdom teeth are since first reading this book. A Scholastic Learn-At-Home PreK Book.

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Science, Anatomy, Health

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids watched this one over and over on one of their Scholastic stories DVDs. Natalie got the book out at her next library day. The kids liked the humor.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Open Wide, tooth school inside, is one of my favorite books from childhood. Go to tooth school where you will learn all about teeth in the day of the life of a tooth. The illustrations are done in a collage way that presents additional information within the pictures. Every page is unique and different and makes reading and learning about teeth fun. This book makes me smile with every turn of the page. This would be a great book for teachers to have in the classroom because it is very educational in a child friendly manner. The additional text within this book makes it better for an individual read rather than a read aloud. I also really enjoyed how this book had true false and multiple choice questions in the back. This book could be an assigned read for a tooth unit or right before Halloween to educate kids about what candy does to your teeth, then have a quiz with the resources found in the back of the book. I absolutely love this book. Every time I read it I find something new that I hadn't seen before. It is absolutely brilliant and will always be available on my bookshelf for others to enjoy it as much as I do.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. No award
2. Kindergarten - Grade 3
3. Go on an educational story adventure with Dr. Flossman about exploring and learning about parts of our teeth and maintaining cleanliness. He goes over the parts of a tooth, what kinds of teeth we have, what cavity is and how to maintain healthy looking and feeling teeth. With Dr. Flossman's knowledge, our teeth will be kept nice and clean.
4. I enjoyed reading this informative friendly book about teeth. This is a different form of a typical boring informational text because its component is written in story form which is more interesting for young readers. I enjoy how the text font style, color and size varies throughout the book to give greater or lesser and an energetic component to reading this book.
5. This book can be used in the classroom to expose children to a friendlier version of an informational text and teach them about personal hygiene.

[Yusra Faridi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes place inside a tooth school, and describes a day in the life of a tooth. The book teaches everything from brushing to flossing, as well as about the different types of teeth. This book is full of information and interesting facts about our teeth and does a great job at encouraging young children to brush and floss daily in order to retain healthy teeth. I found this book incredibly humorous and informational; I believe students would enjoy it as well. The pictures are not only colorful and entertaining, but they also add to the content of the book by giving out more fun facts to the readers. This is a good one to use in the classroom because it includes some questions for readers in the back that the children will enjoy answering.

[Ashlee]

Open Wide: Tooth School Inside, is a nonfiction childrens book written by Laurie Keller. This book acts as if the children are at a tooth school. The teacher is Dr. Flossman and he teaches the children about brushing their teeth. This is a great book to teach children about dental health. It engages the children because it teaches them at a child level of talking. It uses great illustration to encourage the children to brush their teeth. This book will be on my book shelf in my classroom. It is important to teach children about dental health because some children are not fortunate enough to go to the dentist.

[Camie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids LOVE this book. We've only had it about a week and they've gone crazy with it. I know some people have a problem with all the side narrative, but...it's what keeps my kiddos interested and it really ties in with humor the educational part of the book. It's full of fun facts and presents a learning opportunity in an attention catching way. I don't know how else my kids would've enjoyed learning about all their different teeth - and...they're much more eager to brush.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contained a lot of good information on teeth and how to take care of them, but it got lost in all the too-busy illustrations and cutsie text around which the information was built. The concept of following a class of teeth through a day at school as they learn about themselves is novel, and with different illustrations it might have worked. The quizzes at the end were a nice feature, though.

[Tara Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the pictures where fun the story was fun, and the facts where presented in a wonderful way. If there was ever a need to teach about teeth Im sure I could find a way to use this book. This book would however be very difficult to read to a class out loud but I think it is possible with some crativity on the teachers part. I feel that students would ebjoy looking to this book alot and that it would be a fun read or good to listen to. I liked this book alot.

[Heather Ligman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It would be a hard book to read to the class. But it lends itself well as a book to read as an individual. It contains nonfiction information about teeth but presents it in a fun way. I believe kids of both genders would really enjoy it. The pictures are great! It reads almost as a comic strip would. The teeth are the students in school learning about how to take care of themselves.

[Pita-eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows a set of teeth in Tooth School, while sometimes subtly and sometimes not so subtly teaching children about oral hygiene. Laurie Keller uses lovely collage art like in her other books, but also includes some photographs of teeth (I didn't really like the teeth/mouth flower - creepy). Keller's sense of humor is hilarious, and I loved all of the little details and comments outside of the story and in the margins.