Third Grade Baby

Meyerhoff, Jenny. 2008. Third Grade Baby. Illustrated by Jill Weber.

Teeth. Losing teeth seems to be a theme in 2008, I don't quite know why. But Third Grade Baby is a chapter book that deals with just that. A little girl, Polly Peterson, is teased because she's the only one in her third grade class that hasn't lost a single tooth. She still has all her baby teeth. But even once her first tooth has been lost, Polly still has a few troubles. The tooth fairy. Some kids say she's real. Some kids say she's not. Polly's not sure. But when she places her tooth--with a letter--under her pillow, she's disappointed. Very disappointed. The tooth fairy didn't come! Her parents told her that she would, but she didn't. Which leads to some little white lies. How could she face the kids in her class if she told them that the tooth fairy was a no show? Especially not after some of the bragging by her classmates on the loot they've been left through the years. So Polly does some bragging of her own. Oops.

Polly soon realizes that lies have some unpleasant consequences. Now she just has a day (or so) to prove that she has a photo--a real life picture--of the tooth fairy to back up her claims. What's a girl to do?



© Becky Laney of Young Readers