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I Lost My Tooth In Africa

From Reading Rainbow · 2006

I Lost My Tooth In Africa
28 minK1st2nd3rdReading & Writing (ELA)Social Studies
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Summary

Penda Diakité's picture book is based on her daughter's experience losing a tooth while visiting Mali, West Africa — where the Tooth Fairy tradition is very different. A joyful story about family, culture, and the surprises of travel.

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All ages
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Teaching resources

Discussion questions

Discussion

Amina loses a tooth in Mali, West Africa — where the Tooth Fairy works differently.

  1. How is the tooth tradition in Mali different from what you know?
  2. What other things does Amina notice about life in Mali?
  3. What surprised you most about the story?
  4. What family or cultural tradition do you have that might surprise someone from another country?

Quick work-a-long

Vocabulary: Mali, West Africa, tradition, culture, custom.

Try it: Find Mali on a world map or globe. Write two facts about Mali from the story (food, animals, people, or places mentioned).