The girl from "Countdown to Kindergarten" is back in a new lighthearted take on a scary problem--she's losing her first tooth, and she thinks her teacher is an alien who steals her students' baby teeth. Full color. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Having tackled shoelace-tying and new-school jitters, the heroine from Countdown to Kindergarten (and Puddy, her cat) is back to start first grade with a loose tooth. There's just one problem: a second-grader warns her that the first-grade teacher, Mrs. Watson, is a "three-hundred-year-old alien who steals baby teeth from her students." Once again making comical use of spot illustrations and thought balloons intermingled with the main narrative, Bliss conveys palpable fear on the heroine's face, as she looks for her teacher's telltale purple tongue, and shuns the treat box where the woman purportedly "keeps all those baby teeth." Fans will note McGhee's sly references to the first book ("Counting backwards from ten is my specialty! But wait. Keep... mouth... closed," reads the heroine's thought balloon when the teacher asks if anyone knows how), while Bliss fills the book with enough details for parents and kids to pore over (the Drama Club poster announces a production of Marathon Man, "a chilling tale of suspense and toothaches," a Book Fair poster advertises Harry Plotter and the Huge Cavity by J.K. Salinger"). A reassuring, humorous ending when the heroine's tooth finally does pop out in Mrs. Watson's classroom reminds readers that they must rely on their own experiences not the say-so of others. Ages 4-7. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

K-Gr 2 Stories from a "knowledgeable" second grader raise fears on the first day of school as the girl from Countdown to Kindergarten (Silver Whistle, 2002) again struggles to conquer the unknown. Does her first-grade teacher really have a purple tongue? Is she truly a 300-year-old alien? Does she crave earthling baby teeth? A natural first-person narrative, punctuated by speech-bubble thoughts and conversations, carries readers through a difficult experience. Tension mounts as the day wears on and the intrepid student keeps silent to conceal the wobbly evidence in her own mouth. McGhee has the pulse of this blue-ribbon worrier who is the prey of the school gossip and manipulator. Bliss's watercolor and black-ink illustrations feature distinctive, large-eyed classmates and a number of humorous toothy references on the walls in the hall and in the classroom. Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information