Open Wide: Tooth School Inside

     Laurie Keller's first book, The Scrambled States of America, was a runaway success. So her second book, Open Wide: Tooth School Inside (New York: Henry Holt, 2000) takes the same educational-ish-while-still-being-hysterical format and applies it to dentistry(not the most exciting or interesting subject). But told in this way, it works really well.

     We spend the day in the halls of Tooth School, following the students throughout their day, from the Pledge of Allegiance("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.") to the end-of-day bell. The cast we particularly follow is Dr. Flossman and the 32 students in his class. There are the eight incisors, Omar, Liza, Elvis, Sherrie, Sally, Sam, Ira and Ingrid. They're sort of used to being the center of attention. There are the four canines of Candy, Conan, Christy and Carl. The eight (musical) premolars have their own choir; they are Lola, Charlie, Pinky, Penelope, Rosie, Boopsy, Preston and Pedro. Then there are the twelve molars - Rusty, Martin, Marilyn, Marky, Bubba, Millicent, Roland and Melody. (What's that? You only counted eight molars? That's because the rest are Wisdom Teeth. Yep. Edward, Wallace, Wendy and Evelyn. They're weird smart. Like they yawn through episodes of Jeopardy!, saying that the questions are too easy.).
     Principal Fillingston gives his daily announcements over the intercom - there's some bridge work being done, so buses might be a little late today. And there will be a dance after the Chompers' football game on Friday night against the Plaqueville Germs. (Wallace Molar is reading a copy of the Canine in the Rye during these announcements, and Liza Incisor is stuck up.) Almost everyone failed last week's quiz on what healthy teeth ought to look like, so Dr. Flossman has to explain all that info again, including what the teeth are made out of. The part that can be seen is the crown. The outside layer is made of enamel, which is a hard coating protecting them from bacteria and germs.  Under that coating is dentin, which makes up most of the teeth. Pulp is what hurts when one of the teeth has an ache. The root keeps each tooth in place, fastened to the gums by a thin layer called cementum.
     Sally Incisor then reads her (rather incoherent) essay on the Tooth Fairy, and Dr. Flossman plays a videotape so the class can learn more about her. Then it's time for lunch, so everyone breaks into their groups: the incisors are food cutters, the canines food tearers, the premolars food crushers, and the molars are food grinders. (Martin Molar's mother made him a peanut-butter-and-onion sandwich.) During lunch there's a food fight, and then recess. (Preston Premolar had dirt for lunch, and Carl Canine and Lola Premolar are a couple, according to a mark on the schoolyard tree.) A terrifying lesson on cavities is next, so the terrified teeth hastily brush themselves clean. Dr. Flossman reads to them from the bestselling book So You've Got Yourself a Cavity, by Dr. Lou Stooth, then he promotes the Wisdom Teeth onward for higher learning. (Roland Molar is running for Student Council President, according to a banner in the hallway.)
     The history reports need to be read next, and we find out that ancient Egyptians believed that an onion, spice and incense mix would cure toothaches. (And maybe it did. They knew their medicine.) Mayans filed their teeth into different shapes (OUCH!!!!) and decorated them with jewels, while in the early 1600's Japanese women blackened their teeth (ew) to show loyalty to their husbands. Then the school bell rings, and everyone is free for the day. Except for the two quizzes of homework in the back of the book, one true/false and the other multiple choice. This helps reinforce the educational facts we've learned throughout the book.

     The final two pages are more entertaining scribbles adding depth to the world of these teeth, similar to the comments in the margins from The Scrambled States of America. It's a very well-written and well-drawn book, which ought to be read by pretty much everyone with kids, in my opinion.

#Wesley

Yo, Sacramento!

     From the minds behind Yo, Millard Fillmore! (Will Cleveland, Mark Alvarez and Tate Nation) comes the follow-up about state capitals, Yo, Sacramento! (New York: Scholastic,1994).

     Did you know that in the Green Mountains, a gigantic varmint is shaving away ground with his mountain peeler? (Montpelier, Vermont) That the Concorde is sometimes ridden by a nude hamster? (Concord, New Hampshire) Or that the rich lion listens to his collar radio inside his comfy den of fur? (Denver, Colorado) The historical information is right there again on the left-hand pages across from the cartoon, along with important details like state size(by square miles), post office abbreviation, the official bird, tree and flower of each state, as well as the date it entered(or reentered) the Union. And there's nifty trivia in the margins.
     This book also contains helpful quizzes to make sure the information sticks, just like its predecessor. And the states are grouped by region, which is interesting(though confusing, how those regions were decided on). The Jeopardy!-style quiz section is back, in addition to a name-that-state-outline page(which is no problem at all if you read Laurie Keller's Scrambled States of America.)

     This book is hilarious, and incredibly useful. (Seriously, how else would you know that the capital of Kentucky is Frankfort, or the capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg?) Check it out ASAP, especially if you have kids.

#Wesley

Yo, Millard Fillmore!

     Written by Will Cleveland and Mark Alvarez, and illustrated by Tate Nation, Yo, Millard Fillmore! (Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press, 1993) is an instantly-useful and highly entertaining way to memorize, in order, all the presidents from 1 to 42(43, 44 and 45 came after publication) through bizarre images and terrific cartoons.
     Cleveland was on a road trip with his family, the car coated in the heavy silence of boredom, when he suddenly had a great idea: Why not have everybody memorize the presidents? So he checked the list in an encyclopedia(this was before the internet) and over the next couple trips he, his wife and kids came up with entertaining off-the-wall images to make things more bearable. And that's how this book was born.

     We start with a washing machine big enough to wash a ton of clothes. (Washington, of course, but you have to start everything somewhere.) And from there we get escaping mad suns (Madison), a minivan coated with hair (Van Buren), great ants (Grant) coming out of toilets and more. There are helpful quizzes to review your newfound knowledge every five Presidents or so, which solidifies the information while disguising it as a game, which of course is the best method for teaching something so that it'll stick. Skimming the pages, this will take about twenty minutes to finish, and you'd be surprised at how useful it is for knowing the answers to Jeopardy! questions. If you have more than twenty minutes to spend, then there is a short biographical sketch of each President, along with the years he served and his birth-to-death timespan.
     After the cartoons are finished, there's a Jeopardy!-style quiz section to make sure you paid attention to the biographical information, and some memory tricks for remembering years served and which number each guy was. (For every President from John Tyler [10] to William McKinley [25], the last two digits of their term can be figured by multiplying the president's number by four, then adding one.) Then there's a copy of the the oath of office, and the order of succession to the throne after the vice president. (The Secretary of Education is sixteenth in line, which seems pretty far back.)

     It's amazing how often I still use the memory tricks in this book to remember presidents, and capitals, especially(but that post is coming). Read it ASAP, especially if you have kids.

#Wesley