Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Starting first grade has made our young narrator nervous enough. But she becomes even more apprehensive because a second-grader has told her that, "It's a known fact that Mrs. Watson, the first-grade teacher, is a three-hundred-year-old alien who steals baby teeth from her students." As the school bus wends its way to school, more terrifying information is relayed to our young heroine, who feels particularly vulnerable because she has a loose tooth. So through the day's activities her mouth remains firmly closed...until it pops out unexpectedly, and she finds out the happy truth. Smiles abound for readers throughout the text, told mostly in speech balloons and caption for vignettes. Ink and watercolor drawings describe the characters with only the minimum of props: bus, hallway with "toothy" posters, school desks. The children are cartoon-like in their representations, but they help move the comic adventure along with emotional effectiveness as they engage in typical behavior. Someone else's anxiety can be fun to see and may lessen one's own. The final triumphant smile warms the heart. 2004, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 4 to 7.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2005)
Losing baby teeth is a rite of passage for all first graders, so the protagonist of this clever story should be excited about her loose tooth on the first day of school. She’s not. And it’s all because a second grader has told her that her new teacher, Mrs. Watson, is a 300-year old alien who needs human baby teeth in order to survive. Even though Harry Bliss’s hilarious illustrations show Mrs. Watson a quite an ordinary young woman, the second-grade informant has pointed to all sorts of evidence that support her theory: there’s her pearl necklace and earrings that look remarkably like teeth, and the mysterious “treat box” to avoid at all costs. And if you look closely, she says, you’ll see that Mrs. Watson has a green tongue. In spite of the first-grader’s best efforts to keep her mouth closed all day long, her tooth makes a dramatic exit in a toothsome story perfect for a first-grade read-aloud. CCBC categories: Picture Books for School-Aged Children. 2004, Harcourt, 32 pages, $16.00. Ages 5-8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 13))
A second-grader puts the willies into a first-day first-grader in this very fun mock thriller. "She might look human, but don't be fooled. She has a purple tongue. She craves earthling baby teeth." And, of course, our narrator, the self-same first-day first-grader, has got a loose tooth. Well, she isn't going to open her mouth on any account. Except she does and out pops the tooth; likewise, out pops a really nice first-grade teacher. McGhee keeps the dialogue crisp, bringing out the sweet gullibility of the first-grader and the second-grader's mischief-making. Bliss's artwork gives the story additional buzz, like a shot of espresso, in both the immediate interpretation and in a brilliant company of sly marginalia, hitting toothy notes that sit comfortably between Charles Schulz and Charles Addams. 2004, Harcourt, 36p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 7. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 1))
So, McGhee's little ebony-haired worrywart from Countdown to Kindergarten (BCCB 10/02) survived her school debut. Okay, it really wasn't so bad. Well, actually it was pretty darn good. But this year really is going to be nasty because she has Mrs. Watson for first grade and Mrs. Watson is an alien who wears bone jewelry and who steals little kids' baby teeth and who keeps an insidious "treat box" and it's all really true because there's a girl on the bus who told her so and she had Mrs. Watson last year so it must be true. The only thing our narrator can do is keep her mouth closed at all times--even when she wants to sing, even when she knows the right answer, even when it's snack time. The moment of truth arrives when Mrs. Watson brings out the infamous treat box and inquires whether any child has a loose tooth; our heroine can restrain herself no longer and howls, "AAAAAAAHH!" at which point her tooth flies out and she is promptly awarded the first treat of the year--a perfectly ordinary and quite delicious sucker from a kind teacher with a pearl necklace. Live and learn. Listeners who accompanied her to kindergarten in the previous title and know her anxieties are for naught won't find as much tension in this outing, but the gentle lesson on ignoring gossip, delivered with a light touch, will be appreciated nonetheless. Again Harry Bliss crafts a school full of kids worth meeting (from the child who alights from the bus in his p.j.s, to the guy with his finger up his nose) and wall art worth examining ("Mrs. Watson's Lost Tooth Gallery, 1990- "; the book-fair poster selection Harry Potter and the Huge Cavity). As long as there's opening-day dread, there's room for one more funny book to assuage it. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Harcourt, 36p, $16.00. Ages 4-7 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
A second grader warns an already anxious loose-toothed first grader that teacher Mrs. Watson is actually an alien tooth-stealer. ("She might look human, but don’t be fooled.") Transitioning kindergartners will identify with the main character's fears, and audiences will enjoy finding the witty details in the cartoonlike illustrations, which convey both humor and comfort to the reader. Category: Picture Books. 2004, Harcourt, 40pp, 16.00. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 3))
A poor little first-grader is excited to go to school on the first day until she hears a horrifying story. Her teacher, Mrs. Watson, is actually a three-hundred-year-old alien who needs teeth in order to return to her home far away. All day the little girl tries to keep her mouth shut because she has a loose tooth! There are so many things she wants to say but can’t, until finally she screams in fear when a little boy in front of her claims to have a loose tooth. Her tooth flies out! And, lo and behold, Mrs. Watson has lollypops for the students who lose their teeth. She isn’t a monster after all! This book will be a delight to all audiences, particularly to those children who are afraid to go to school the first day. The illustrations are brightly colored and thoroughly enjoyable. There are little details on each page which will be fun for the reader to spot. On one page there are advertisements for upcoming drama, “Harry Plotter and the Huge Cavity by J.K. Salinger.” This book will be an asset and a popular choice for all elementary school libraries and public libraries. Who knows, it might be a good choice for a dentist’s office, too. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades PreK-3. 2004, Harcourt, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 3 to 9.