Teeth Are Not for Biting

Best Behavior

by Elizabeth Verdick, Marieka Heinlen (Illustrator)

“Crunch crunch crunch. Teeth are strong and sharp. Crunch crunch crunch. Teeth can help you chew. But teeth are not for biting. Ouch! Biting hurts.” Sooner or later, almost all young children will bite someone—a friend, a parent, a sibling. This upbeat, colorful, virtually indestructible book helps prevent biting and teaches positive alternatives. Teeth Are Not for Biting gives reasons why children might want to bite. Little mouths feel sore when new teeth come in; sometimes kids bite when they’re hungry, tired, cranky, frustrated, angry, bored, distressed, or seeking attention. Author Elizabeth Verdick suggests positive things children can do instead of chew a chewy toy, drink a cold drink, get a hug, tell a grown-up. This book also includes helpful tips for parents and caregivers. Best Behavior® Series
Simple words and lively full-color illustrations guide children to choose positive behaviors. Select titles are available in two a durable board book for ages 1–4 and an expanded paperback for ages 4–7. Bilingual board book and paperback editions of select titles also are available. Kids, parents, and teachers love these award-winning books. All include helpful tips for t(more...)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Parenting, Nonfiction, Self Help, School

24 pages, Board book

First published April 15, 2003

About the author

Elizabeth Verdick has been writing books since 1997, the year her daughter was born. Her two children, now ages 13 and 8, are the inspiration for nearly everything she writes. Before becoming an author, Elizabeth edited books for children and parents.

These days she writes books for toddlers to teens, and everything in between. She especially loves creating new board book series for toddlers—the latest series is Toddler Tools™, which helps young children and their parents cope with those tough times and transitions that happen every day (like naptime and bedtime). The Best Behavior™ series helps toddlers reach new milestones and improve their day-to-day behavior.

Elizabeth also enjoys getting the chance to look at the funny side of life in the Laugh and Learn™ series, which helps kids ages 8–13 get a handle on the social/emotional skills they’re developing throughout the elementary– and middle school years. Elizabeth lives with her family and five pets near St. Paul, Minnesota.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is such a lie!! this is precisely what teeth are for!!! lies!! liiieeeessss!!!

this book is also a lie and i can't believe greg keeps bringing these to me!!

Feet Are Not for Kicking

but this one - this one is the troof:

Diapers Are Not Forever

so we will let that one stay.

come to my blog!

[Bailey Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just bought this book today for my 19-month old who seems to be the problem "biter" and "hitter" at her daycare. I read it just now and loved it. The message is clear and simple that biting hurts and hugs and smiling are much better, so let's go do those things instead. :-) I wasn't expecting the awesome blurbs in the back for parents and caregivers on how to handle situations like these. I kept hearing that biting a child back shows them that biting hurts, but in my gut I never felt that was ok. And the blurb in the back of this book confirmed my gut feeling! It can confuse a child if you are biting them back, like sometimes biting is ok...which it is not. I really hope reading this to her when she bites can begin to get to the message through that tiny thick skull of hers heehee.

[Courtney K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this everyday for weeks, but if finally sunk in (instead of DS's teeth). We love the tagline "biting hurts, oww!" Now they just need a "Fingers are not for pinching" and "hands are not for hitting" in board book format.

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reserving judgement for after we see if it works. So far toddler says, "Books are not for reading!"

Update: She now thinks reading this book is a reward for biting someone.

[Orion Kopf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why my mom read this book to me. Teeth are OBVIOUSLY for biting, what else would they be for? Other than grinding together with a really horrible noise. Also, my mom is VERY DELICIOUS.

[Lee]

If only kids actually understood this.

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter was bitten at daycare and I wanted to teach her the importance of not biting ( I didn't want her to bite the child back ) and what you should do if you are bitten.....at the time she was only just over a year old or so and she understood it perfectly. Well written for a biter or for the child getting bitten.

[Seon Kim]

The book helps young children understand the purposes of their teeth. Also, it tells children that we do not use teeth to bite their friends. I would print out some of the pictures from the book and place in on the wall of the classroom to promote children's positive behaviors.

[Stephen]

I learned a lot from this

[Josh G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it to my toddler after she bit a kid at school. it was effective in two languages!

[Kathryn Atreides · Rating 4 out of 5]

Might just read this twenty times a day to little dude until the message sinks in lol

[A Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book that perfectly captures uses for our teeth and alternatives to biting (such as taking a cold drink or using your word). Would highly recommend

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a big fan of didactic books, but this one has great onomatopoeia and is disturbingly catchy. It seems like a Daniel tiger episode to me.

[Courtney Hoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for children who are starting to teeth. Within this age they are learning what their teeth are used for, therefore, they need to know what is right and what is wrong. Clearly the children will not be able to read on their own so it would be good for a parent to read this book to them especially someone the child would listen to. This book teaches children that biting is bad. That if you are mad, it is best to do something else like chew a toy (teething toy) or drink something cold. The words "biting is bad" is very repetitive so the children understand it and do not bite, as it is bad. I gave this story 5 stars because it is very helpful for children at a young age and something easy that the parents can do to teach their child. The illustrations went very well with the short story (short story to capture attention span) and showed examples because even though they cannot read, they can mimic actions.

[Little John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library. This book introduces an interesting concept: using the board book to teach more appropriate behaviour. LittleJohn is only just 9 months old and in the middle of teething. I'm not sure how much he got out of the advice in the book, but I got a lot out of it! There are even two pages at the back with tips for parents and caregivers. LittleJohn mostly gnawed on the book, himself, and I got some pretty priceless shots of him chewing on a book with a title like this!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my grand-daughter, Ellie (age 2) who until about two weeks ago was an angel when suddenly she bit her sister, twice! We're going to use it in our no-biting regime, and it looks like it is informative and approaches this issue with good ideas such as "Use your words" (instead of your teeth!). I also was interested to discover that the publisher carries interesting books that deal with socio-emotional issues (with some books for parents and professionals). Check this out: Free Spirit Publishing as http://www.freespirit.com/.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for teaching manners and for young children to teach them proper things to do with their teeth. This encourages and teaches them that it is hurtful to bite people and that you should only use your teeth for proper things.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3 stars because I think it could cause confusion with kids. Teeth ARE used for biting--biting into food!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good message. However, I already knew that biting other people is wrong. I'm hoping Claire figures this out.

[Serena Kolocin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Teeth Are Not for Biting" (Board Book) by Elizabeth Verdick, illustrated by Marieka Heinlen, is a work of contemporary realistic fiction. This book has not won any awards and is meant for children ages one through three. This book is about how children want to bite when their teeth come in, but teeth are not meant for biting. I rated this book five stars because Verdick does an excellent job in using repetition of the exact phrase to get her point across, especially because she is making a point to children that are so young. By repeating the phrase "Ouch! Biting hurts" over and over and over again, whatever child you are reading this book to will start to catch on, making it fun for them to say it to whoever is reading it to them. Another fantastic thing about this book is that it gives other ways for children to relieve the sensation of biting without harming anyone. If you are biting a person, that hurts, but if you are biting a chewy snack or something cold, that is a better way to do it. Something else I appreciated was informing children of how many teeth they will one day have in their mouth. Although it has no context to biting, Verdick did an excellent job implementing an essential fact about the child's mouth without detracting from the overall theme of "no biting." The illustrations are also very helpful since children can not read and are constantly looking at the pictures. Marieka Heinlen did a great job with the illustrations in the sense that there was a picture to match each phrase- for example- having pictures of the other options you could do with your teeth instead of biting, one of which being giving your mom or dad a hug. A way that I would use this in the classroom is to read it one-on-one with a child or student that may have a biting problem, whether they bite when they are angry or upset or if they are biting simply because their teeth are coming in and it hurts, and they want to relieve that feeling. My students have read this book because I have it in the classroom, and they like looking at the ways not to bite.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have been studying manners in our homeschool. So when I saw Teeth Are Not for Biting for review, I grabbed it. My older children don't have any issues with biting, but occasionally my youngest will bite. It isn't often, but when he does it he goes all in. The content in Teeth Are Not for Biting is best suited for smaller children (under the age of 4).

I liked how the book starts off with how teeth are strong and sharp and used for eating. This establishes that teeth are good and used for a purpose. Then the title phrase is used in addition to the phrase "Ouch! Biting hurts." This phrase is used repetitively throughout the book to drive home this point. Teeth are again presented in a positive light for the child by telling the child that they will have more teeth as they grow. Children always want to be bigger than they are, so this gives them something to look forward to. Instead of first addressing that children feel angry and choose to bite, I like that the idea of the child's mouth hurting when new teeth are coming in. This offers up the idea that biting might be comforting to the child and not something done out of bad behavior. But then the title phrase and subsequent line is repeated. Suggestion are offered on how the child might soothe their mouths without biting others. After this the behavior issue is addressed that biting might be used when a child feels sad or angry, etc. The title phrase is repeated and the suggestions on what to do instead are again offered. And then last of all, the scenario is presented that maybe another child bites you and how to handle that. Finally, teeth are presented as being for the purpose of smiling--wrapping things up with another positive.

All in all, I think Teeth Are Not for Biting gets 4 Stars. Have you or your child read Teeth Are Not for Biting? What did you think? Let me know!

[Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got after the second time S bit his friend so hard he broke skin. I thought it would be like 'Hands Are Not For Hitting', with lots of fun, positive ideas of what teeth are for instead. It's not that. Presumably because, now I think of it, teeth aren't good for much but biting.
S was eating corn on the cob whilst we read this so he did lots of very enthusiastic chewing.
If I were to do a version I think it would go 'Teeth are not for biting people. Ow, that hurts! They're for biting... corn on the cob! porridge! cake! YUM etc' and then a page of you doing a big toothy smile because you've had such nice food.
That is a book my kid would be into. As it is - he's not teething, and he hasn't been bitten so I skipped those bits, leaving us with the page at dinner (good opportunity for enthusiastic chewing), the page about counting your teeth (s liked this), the page where the kid gets bitten (s was distracted by the car the child was riding, and by this point I was feeling queasy about reading him something so didactic), the smiling page, and a page of advice about what you should do instead of biting when you're angry or tired. Too much information on that page and the advice didn't seem easy for a young child to absorb. Mine certainly didn't.
But he did ask for an immediate re-read so he could have his teeth counted again so that's something.

[Olivia Fuchsluger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teeth are not for biting by Elizabeth Verdick. This story is realistic fiction. The ages I think this story can be read to are from zero to three years old. This story uses real people and talks about the topic teeth. This story explains what teeth are for and how teeth should be used in the proper way. This story discusses different emotions and how when you are feeling angry or sad, you do not let it out by biting others. I would rate this story a five because it is really helpful for young children. When children are upset and have so many emotions, sometimes they do not know how to express those emotions, but this story teaches them other techniques on how to express themselves. For example, “When new teeth come in your mouth may be sore. Let’s do this instead: Drink a cold drink. Take a little rest. Get a hug!” This story uses other ways other than biting. It also shows great illustrations that really show the emotions on the characters faces. I would use this story if I was working with very young children and they were having trouble with biting. I would read this story to them, so that kind of behavior will not occur again.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a simple straight forward book about not biting. Some many children go through this issue. I love how that tips for parents in the back of the book stress never biting your child back.

** Talking Points: Have you ever bitten someone? Tell me about it. How did you feel afterwards? Have you every purposefully hurt someone? Tell me about it. How did you feel afterwards? How did you learn not to hurt others? Are you always kind? In what ways are you still learning to be kind? What helps you be kind when you feel hurt?

** Essential Oil Pairing Tip: I'd pair doTERRA's Forgive Essential Oil blend with this book. So often people hurt others out of frustration or sadness or anger. doTERRA's Forgive can help us all let go of the hurts from the past and go forward with our best selves - that don't hurt others back.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many young children go through a biting phase. This upbeat, colorful, bilingual English-Spanish board book gives reasons why children might want to bite. Little mouths feel sore when new teeth come in; sometimes kids bite when they’re hungry, tired, cranky, frustrated, angry, bored, distressed, or seeking attention. This book helps prevent toddler biting and teaches positive alternatives: chew a chewy toy, drink a cold drink, get a hug, tell a grown-up. The book also includes helpful tips for parents and caregivers in both English and Spanish.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is really great! It’s very informative and it teaches children very well because it uses the right level of vocabulary and is presented in an engaging way. I especially love all of the advice for parents listed at the end of each book and the size of the book (the pages are quite large). My only criticism is that the board book pages are thinner than is typical for a board book, and I’m worried that these books won’t hold up to the antics of an excited toddler (which is who they’re written for).

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of a big set of board books aimed at removing bad behaviour (I nearly said 'stamping out', but stamping is probably one of the subjects, so I'll stick with the programme). It's simple, it repeats that biting hurts, but while it gives us several ways to feel it justified it has just as many ways for us to stop it and do something else instead.

Also available in a bilingual, English/Spanish edition.

[April Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teeth Are Not for Biting is a very good educational book. It gives reasons on why a child may want to bite and it explains that biting hurts and that there are other things that are better for example hugs. I feel like this is a good book to read to your preschoolers and kindergartners to teach them about not biting people.

[Gretchen Klepzig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about what teeth should be used for biting and what should not be used for biting. I think this could be a fun book for an interactive read aloud but I do not think I would include it in my classroom library as there is not a real strong message in the book I would to spread though my library.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tonight Hope said based on this book she is going to bite her friends. Not the intent or goal of the book. Headed back to the library. Good strategies at the end of this one too but I really think this is more 1-2 yr old.