Alan's Big, Scary Teeth

Product Information

The illustrations in this book are bright and colorful, and the characters are expressive, making it easy for children to engage with the story. The illustrations display a jungle and many different animals for children to see. The text is also easy to read and follow along, making it a great choice for children who are just starting to read on their own. The illustrations are brilliant. I love the scary faces that Alan pulls. I also love the little items dotted around the images. Children might not notice them, but I’m sure the adults reading the book will – Eau De Gator perfume, The Jungle Times newspaper, etc. Alan the Crocodile likes to scare the other animals in the jungle. It’s all he knows how to do. Every morning he polishes his scales, sharpens his nails, brushes each of his teeth for ten minutes and practices his frightening faces in the mirror, then he sets off to go and do some scaring. Returning home later that day filled with joy. The witty Jarvis (“Lazy Dave”) makes all the right moves, drawing Alan’s jungle world with his usual loose, jagged charm. I liked Alan as a character - he's the kind of funny, "bad guy" who turns good and ends up having silly things happen to him; these kind of characters are particularly well received in this house. The other creatures and critters are also really colourful, which I liked because it's a good conversation starter, although not especially true to form (there is a blue beaver for instance) - this didn't matter to me though. I thought the story flowed so well, and made perfect sense to small readers, which isn't always the case with the sillier types of stories.

As an extension of this story, you can have a go at cleaning Alans’s teeth afterwards. Simply use false teeth (or laminated pictures of teeth) and mark make on them with a whiteboard pen. Then use a toothbrush, toothpaste, and water to brush all the marks of the teeth. Alan's Big Scary Teeth seems to be a favourite with kids. I've read this multiple times to children I have worked with and it's always engaging and enjoyable. The theme of wanting to be perceived as fearsome or tough but still want to be liked and loved by one's friends will strike a chord with many young readers. How would you change the plot? What if Alan’s teeth weren’t fake and he kept scaring the jungle animals?

Ik zag deze in de boekenhandel en de titel sprak me meteen aan. Ik wilde wel weten hoe gevaarlijk die tanden van Marc nou waren, de cover zag er mooi en kleurrijk uit, en toen die blurb. Tja, toen wilde ik ook nog weten wat nou dat Grote Geheim is. A hilarious, cautionary tale with a wonderful conclusion on kindness, this imaginative story will have kids in stitches. This strong debut picture book will leave young listeners and librarians alike hungry for the author’s next offering. A perfect choice for storytime.

The ending of the story is a nice one with Alan’s secret ultimately coming out and not bothering the animals once they’ve had a talk to him. The whole book makes me laugh, even after reading it through the first time and I think I’m definitely a fan of Jarvis and his books after also reading ‘Mrs Mole, I’m Home’ which I also loved. This is a funny book and I’m sure lots of kids and even some adults will enjoy. I’d definitely recommend it for a fun read, especially as it could also teach some kids that wanting to be mean to others isn’t a good thing. En wat was dit grappig zeg. Ik moet wel zeggen dat ik Marc niet altijd mocht. Ik vond hem maar gemeen en een bullebak. Dieren laten schrikken is niet aardig, en dus, toen zijn geheim uitkwam, had ik eerst niet echt medelijden met hem. Misschien gemeen van mij, maar ik vond dat hij wel eens een lesje kon leren. Dan kan hij eens leren om aardiger te zijn. De illustraties waren echt leuk, en mooi, en ik kon gewoon tijden naar de pagina’s kijken. Zo lekker kleurrijk ook!

Alan agreed and he took up a variety of roles that pleased the animals and the only time he was scary was when he told Scary Stories to them. And he even lent Barry the Beaver his scary teeth on occasions ... Barry did look a sight! I didn't really take to the story in this book. I didn't like the jungle animals laughing at Alan because he had no teeth. I also didn't understand why Alan promised not to be scary but still told scary stories which nobody minded - slightly confusing for the younger mind. I would prefer children not to be taught that it is acceptable to laugh at others for a physical impairment. This book invites interaction with the story and plenty of action and noise as Alan makes his way through the jungle and on to a new identity. There is a nice message about being a friend as the story draws to a close. This is a good title for primary collections and collections that need strong, artistic storytelling on their shelves.

The entertaining children's book 'Alan's Big Scary Teeth' by Jarvis is a funny and engaging book for young readers. The story follows Alan an alligator who enjoys frightening the other animals in the forest with his large, menacing fangs. Alan must figure out a way to make up with his buddies once his secret is discovered. This is a fantastic book to explore with children in the early years, especially for those children who are animal fanatics. You can take this book in many directions, as you think about a fun-loving alligator who loves to scare, with his big scary teeth. Part three of our oral hygiene series explores, how we can use this beautifully illustrated book, bound to make children laugh to promote good oral hygiene in the early years. Alan is an alligator with a secret, his teeth they are in fact false teeth. Alan wakes up one morning and has lost his teeth, can he still be scary without them? We are going to explore some ways you can use this story within your setting and tell it in a fun and exciting way, with extension activities. The media used in this book is colored crayon, it is not polished or reinforced by a computer drawing program. This benefits in making the book appear more personal and therefore more meaningful to the reader from the author. But Barry the Beaver, early one morning, discovered them and hid them away. Consequently Alan's jungle visit later that morning was not so scary and the animals laughed at him. Alan was no longer scary! Marc in de latere stukjes was wel heel aardig, en we vinden ook uit waarom hij zo gemeen doet (tuurlijk het is al een ding met dat geheim, maar als je dat ook nog eens hebt, dan kan ik me voorstellen dat je misschien iedereen zo laat schrikken).PreS-Gr 1—Alan the alligator fancies himself to be the most fearsome creature in the jungle, but he's hiding a secret that could change his whole image. Every day, he polishes his scales, brushes his scary teeth one by one, and practices his frightening faces in the mirror. Then, he sneaks up on the frogs, monkeys, and parrots and scares them silly. At the end of the day, Alan luxuriates in his victorious scare tactics, but eventually he has to get real with himself; Alan has false teeth! He keeps his secret safe by storing his chompers in a special hiding place where Barry the Beaver eventually finds them by mistake. When Alan wakes up to find his teeth are missing, he attempts to launch his scaring spree as usual but is laughed at by the other animals. This makes him cry. Alan's wails continue through the night, and by morning all of the animals are on board to return his teeth, though they have drafted a few rules for how he can use them moving forward. Vibrant pencil, chalk, and paint illustrations colored digitally are preschool-friendly and maximize the humor in the text by providing little details for readers to delight in, such as Alan's taste in reading materials and his full line of grooming products. The simple yet effective expressions the animals display throughout the story are no doubt inspired by the author's work in animation, which contributes to this story's success as a read-aloud. This strong debut picture book will leave young listeners and librarians alike hungry for the author's next offering. VERDICT A perfect choice for storytime.—Samantha Lumetta, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH School Library Journal Can you scare as well as Alan? Set up some mirrors and pictures of people pulling scary faces and see if you can practise pulling a scary face just like Alan in the mirror. It is a great opportunity to talk with children about what makes a face scary and identify the different features of our faces. Children can also look closely at the teeth, eyes, and facial features. You can also incorporate some ICT by taking photos of each other pulling scary faces and add them to the display. However, Alan has a secret. His big teeth are not real, they are false. When he loses his teeth he doesn’t know what he will do as all he knows how is scaring the animals. Do you think they will still be frightened of a toothless Crocodile? So I'd happily recommend you become acquainted with Alan - the not-so-scary "fake" alligator. He may even let you borrow his teeth!