I Lost My Tooth!

Unlimited Squirrels #1

by Mo Willems

Mo Willems, creator of the revolutionary, award-winning, best-selling Elephant & Piggie series, is back with another breakout beginning-reader series. This time, an ensemble cast of Squirrels, acorns, and pop-in guests host a page-turning extravaganza! Each book features a funny, furry adventure AND bonus jokes, quirky quizzes, nutty fact formats, and so, so many squirrels!

In I Lost My Tooth!, Zoom Squirrel has lost his front tooth. The Squirrels leap to the rescue to find the lost tooth. When they discover it is a baby tooth that is lost, the stakes are even higher. What will become of the poor, lost, sad, hungry, baby tooth!?

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Friendship

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2018

About the author

#1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale.

In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.

The New York Times Book Review called Mo “the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's."

Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.

Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering 6 Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo highly enjoyed this book as he took the lead in reading to me. Mo Willems is able to inject wonderful humour and learning at the same time. One of the squirrels has lost a tooth, leaving the rest of the group to panic about where it might be. When it is discovered to be a baby tooth, full-on panic follows and the reader is taken through the rollercoaster of emotions. By the time everything has been resolved, it's time for some corny jokes and to learn a little more about teeth, animals, and how they intersect. Neo laughed while pointing out all the things he learned in this piece, by an author he has long enjoyed. Great for readers who are still getting used to the daunting task, while also full of fun facts!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cheesy little story about squirrels who don't know what it means to lose a tooth. The kids loved it, though, and laughed on almost every page.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If a sugar rush were a book, it would be this book. It will appeal to its intended audience of emerging readers, but I miss the gentler tone and less frenetic pacing of the Elephant and Piggie books.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing Mo Willems book is still miles above most!

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

First sentence: I lost my tooth! Th! What did you say, Zoom Squirrel? Th! Th! Th! I lost my tooth, Th-ip Squirrel. What did Zoom Squirrel say?

Premise/plot: Zoom Squirrel has lost a tooth. His squirrel friends have a hard time understanding what exactly this means. Their confusion goes on for over fifty pages. They imagine first that Zoom's tooth is MISSING. Then when Zoom explains that it was a baby tooth, his friends get really emotional. A BABY tooth is MISSING.

My thoughts: I think I would like this one more if it didn't go on so very long. The first fifty-eight pages are the 'big story.' But the book is ninety-six pages. The remaining pages are filled with junk. What kind of junk? Acorn-y jokes. There are a few non-fiction facts shared as well. I suppose these facts aren't technically junk. There's a page on HUMAN teeth. There's a page on SQUIRREL TEETH. And then there's the a bizarre page that shares facts about bear teeth and shark teeth. We also learn the oh-so-obvious-fact that plants do not have teeth. (Do we really need this quiz and answer page?!?!)

I am super-excited that Mo Willem is still writing books. I love his Pigeon series. I do. I love, love, love, crazy-love his Elephant and Piggie series. I enjoy Knuffle Bunny. There have been a few stand-alone books that I've enjoyed as well. This appears to be the start of a new series. I hope future books are better.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoom Squirrel has lost one of his front teeth. Once his friends understand his problem, they pitch in to help find it, especially when they learn it is a baby tooth! Can they find this baby (tooth) before it gets too frightened?

Fans of Mo Willems won't be surprised at the first two thirds of this book. It may introduce us to a new set of characters, but the storytelling, humor, and fun are classic Mo, including the easy to read dialogue driven action. I was trying hard not to laugh in public as I finished it up. The rest of the book consists of some fun jokes and a couple of sections that tell us about teeth and quiz us on some animal teeth. It's actually quite interesting, and presented in a fun way, so kids will enjoy learning about it as well. They might even get interested in learning more on their own, which is a good thing. I didn't love it as much as I've loved some of his other picture books. I think my issue is, this isn't an Elephant and Piggie book. I certainly can't find another reason not to like this book, and I think kids will have so much fun they won't care.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made me kind of anxious? There was too much going on. I'm sure many kids will find it funny but I found it chaotic and I prefer the Elephant & Piggie books.

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #90 Read in 2018
I Lost My Tooth by Mo Willems

This is a cute picture book, geared toward pre-school through 1st grade, that details losing a baby tooth using cute squirrels. This could definitely make kids feel better about losing their baby teeth. It's a cute read. I borrowed it from the public library.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frenetic humor with not a lot of personality. Perhaps unlimited squirrels is too many squirrels?

Mo Willems launches another graphic novel series for the youngest readers. I probably would have enjoyed reading this to my daughter when she was little, though not as much as Willem's Elephant and Piggie books. But I suppose this will do until Marvel gives Tippy-Toe a spin-off series from the Squirrel Girl books.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot going on in these pages! It has a bit of a more frenetic energy than Elephant & Piggie, but is a great next step early reader for those who are ready to go beyond E&P. And it's funny. And full of emotions. And fun facts. And some corny jokes.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really nice step up from the Elephant and Piggie books. With a table of contents and a few "chapters," this could help a kid feel like they are reading a "real book." With a cute, silly story involving hilarious squirrels, some "a-corny" jokes and "emot-acorns" to look for, and a few fun facts about teeth, this book has a lot of interest to keep a kid occupied for a while. I think it's fantastic and look forward to seeing more books with the Unlimited Squirrels!
4.5 stars

[Abby Johnson]

When Zoom Squirrel loses a tooth, the other squirrels misunderstand and think the tooth is LOST, causing mayhem and dramatics. This is a funny, expressive reader that will find a home with Mo Willems superfans and readers who miss new Elephant and Piggie books.

[Mim_farahani · Rating 4 out of 5]

مگه میشه "مو ویلمس" و خلاقیت‌هاش رو دوست نداشت؟!
همونطور که از اسم کتاب مشخصه موضوعش دندونه و به خصوص دندون‌های شیری به اضافه یک داستان بامزه، چند جک آبکی و چند تا اطلاعات علمی درباره دندان.

[Joella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly I like this book. But I'm still not a fan of the characters "talking" about a book on the first few pages as if they are trying to get you to get excited about a book. I mean, at that point you have already opened the book. Just get on with the real story and don't do side-things just to point out that we are about to read a story that the characters obviously like. (Yeah, I didn't like the Elephant and Piggie Presents thing...just get on with the good books that are written without getting some character to tell me to read the thing I am already reading.)

Anyway, this new series is about squirrels. Mostly it is cute. But I think the longer length makes some of the jokes a little over-done. In the Elephant and Piggie series the punch line always came at the end of the book. Here it feels like we get a glimps of something funny and then there are still 50+ pages left. And by the time I got to the end it wasn't as funny to me anymore. One more little quibble. The squirrel that lost his tooth--sometimes he has a "th" sound for the "s" sound when he talks such as "I lost my tooth, Th-ip Squirrel" (for "Zip" squirrel). But then other times the "s" sound is just written as an "s" sound. (Even in the above example it probably should have been "I lotht my tooth, Th-ip Thuirrel." If you are going to do the missing tooth lisp, do it all the way. Don't do it when you feel like it.

That all being said. The characters are fun. The jokes are pretty good. I liked the quiz show and the random facts. But by the end I was just wondering why it was all so long. Overall good, but no where near the epic proportions that Elephant and Piggie are.

[Jj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, on the whole. I expected more from Mo Willems with the start of a new series. The illustrations are, of course, funny and cute. But OH! The text is painfully unfunny and just goes on forever, and I do mean forever--at 85 pages, this book feels like it goes on for about 50 pages too many. The entire plot of the story is supposedly humorous but just comes off as cloyingly stupid. Yes, stupid. Children are not stupid, so please do not try to explain this away and say, "well, it's written for an audience of children". I thought the so-called "factual" part of the book might be better, but it fails to convey much information at all--and what little it does, it does poorly.

Appending visuals of the actual covers of Elephant & Piggie, Pigeon, and Knuffle Bunny books on the back endpapers is just a painful reminder of two things: one, this does not live up to the quality of those three other series; two, continued references to one's previous successes in one's new titles wears thin very quickly. (I won't mention the "Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!" series debacle, though it is tempting at this point.)

Mo Willems, you have written great and timeless works which we love and share. Do not cheapen yourself with the hard-selling tactics and near-constant reminders of your greatness, as it only serves to diminish your many worthy contributions to children's literature and television.

[Westminster Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids love Willems' Elephant and Piggie books but for those kiddos who have outgrown the simple structure of those books and want something with more nuanced humor, this new series, Unlimited Squirrels definitely fits the bill. in this book, a group of squirrels discovers what it means to lose a tooth, needless to say it is an emotional rollercoaster. What I like about this book is that there is some information about teeth in general included as well. This is an excellent new series by Mo Willems and I am sure that kids will enjoy this as much as his other series.

Find I Lost My Tooth! at Westminster Public Library today!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mo Willems does it again! This new book, I Lost My Tooth, the first in the Unlimited Squirrels series, is wonderful!

It has a funny story, told via graphic novel style, includes nods to non-fiction text features, an introduction to the "emote-acorns", his version of emojis with acorns...so funny! He also includes basic facts via his research squirrel about teeth.

It's a wonderful introduction for young readers who are ready to move up a step from the Piggie and Elephant series although students of all ages would enjoy it. I laughed the entire time so it's definitely a great choice for parents to read along with their kids.

[Melki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um . . . maybe next time try limiting the number of squirrels.

And pages.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining story featuring a young squirrel who loses a tooth and the community of squirels spring into action. The interaction between the squirrels is humorous, and Mr. Willems includes acorn 'emojis' to help readers determine what emotions the squirrels are feeling.

In addition, following the story, there are additional sections of scientific information about teeth that complement the narrative. Overall, it was a fun book and even if these squirrels don't replace Gerald and Piggie in my heart, I anticipate that they will be much loved by children of all ages.

interesting quote:

"There's always something more to learn - when you have a page to turn!" (p. 80)

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, complete with corny jokes at the end. My daughter is starting to be a bit too old for these, but, I'm sure she'll get a kick out of this anyways. It's adorable, exactly the kind of silly humor that kids understand and enjoy. Parents will probably like the couple pages of facts at the end.

[Jordan Henrichs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as memorable as Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggie, or Pigeon, but it's still Mo Willems. There seemed to be a lot going on, but with squirrels as the main characters, maybe that is the point!

[Kelli Gleiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My five year-old and I just finished this, and he’s still giggling. Silly and fun, great for kids who’ve moved past the “Elephant and Piggie” books.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Mo book, the Pigeon even makes an unexpected appearance. This book was so corny, I just had to shake my head and laugh.

[AMY · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has lots of funny illustrations. It is a very silly book full of conversations and jokes. Elephant and Piggie fans will like it. It was just ok for me. Perfect for Grades K-2. Recommended.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slap stick easy reader with "Acorn-y" jokes" and "emote-acorns."

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little book all about teeth with cute illustrations as always.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A squirrel loses a tooth and the other squirrels don't understand it. Odd. Not funny, to me.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is delightful and silly, but I I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as the Elephant and Piggie books I’ve read.

[Zoha Mortazavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

مو ویلیس شگفت انگیز است. این کتاب را برای کودکتان بخوانید وقتی که برای اولین بار دندانش میفتد.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it a bunch of times and it was super fun.