The Magic School Bus and the Missing Tooth (Magic School Bus Series) » (Scholastic Reader: Level 2)

Wanda finds a tooth in the back of Ms. Frizzle's classroom. It is small and very sharp. It doesn't look like a human tooth. Who lost it? The Friz thinks a field trip is in order to explore what teeth do and why they have different shapes. Take off on the Magic School Bus for an adventure with lots of bite, and find out all about teeth!

Children's Literature

Who does the tooth that Wanda found in the classroom belong to? That question introduces a lesson about teeth and an adventure on the school bus that takes the kids into a human mouth and a horse's mouth. The illustrations show how different teeth are designed for various purposes. Sharp ones grab prey and flat ones are used to grind the food before it is swallowed. Teeth also have different parts and the soft interior is covered with enamel, which is the hardest thing in our bodies. After all the travel and excitement, the kids learn that the tooth belongs to someone quite close by and that lizards like Liz can grow 200 teeth in a year. The adventures with Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus are always interesting and offer good information in a predictable way. Inset notebook pages have facts, and the kids' comments help enliven what could be a boring lesson. At the end of this early reader, several skulls/jawbones are shown and kids are asked to match up the head with the correct animal.