Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth by Jarvis (Somerville, Mass., Candlewick Press) $22
Oh no! Alan the alligator has big, scary teeth. And he goes around the jungle scaring all the animals every single day.
This is bad news for those being scared by the snapping of teeth, the loud grrr grrr-ing and the ominous comments such as, “I’m big scary Alan! Fear my razor-sharp teeth!”
Alan is apparently a bully without the vestige of a conscience. That is, until the morning after his evening ritual of taking out his false teeth and putting them in his supersecret hiding place exclaiming, “Thweet dweams, my thcary thnappers.”
Barry the beaver encounters the teeth when he dives behind a bush to avoid Alan (who happens to be snoozing) and naturally purloins them. Alan is appalled and his fears are realized when he becomes the laughing stock of the jungle. He cries uncontrollably until the animals make a deal and Alan turns into a do-gooder by day and a teller of scary stories by night.
Brightly coloured pages and critters who just ooze character add to the appeal of this very, very funny oversized picture book.
“Bwa-ha-ha! I love being scary,” says Alan and bwa-ha-ha will agree all the readers.
Fran Ashdown was the children’s librarian at the Capilano branch of the North Vancouver District Public Library. She uses fake false teeth for Halloween storytimes. For more information check your local libraries.
