Article
Baba Wagué Diakité
Fiction,

I Lost My Tooth In Africa

And what the African Tooth Fairy brought me was even better than money!

By Penda Diakité | Art by Baba Wagué Diakité
From the October/November 2019 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify the details that describe setting in this realistic story about a young girl’s visit to her family in Africa.

Lexiles: 500L-600L
Guided Reading Level: M
DRA Level: 24
Featured Skill: Setting,
Common Core Standards
  • R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.6, W.4, SL.1, SL.2, L.1
TEKS Standards
  • TEKS Grades 2-3:
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 7b, 7c, 7f, 8c, 8d, 9a, 10d, 12a, 12d

Presentation View
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Think and Read: Setting

The setting of a story is the time and place in which it happens. As you read, look for details that describe the setting of this story.  

Hi! My name is Amina. I live in Portland, Oregon. Today, we are flying to Africa to visit my father’s family in Bamako, Mali. Africa is very far from our home in Portland. It takes two days, three planes, and three different continents to get there. Right before landing in Mali, I discover I have a wiggly tooth.

My dad says if you lose a tooth in Africa and put it under a gourd, you will get a chicken from the African Tooth Fairy! I really want to lose my tooth in Africa. So I try tricks with my tongue to help it come out faster.

But nothing happens.

PAUSE AND THINK: What does Amina’s dad say happens if you lose a tooth in Africa?

Family Time

When we arrive, my aunts, uncles, and cousins are here to greet us. They all live together in one compound with N’na, my grandma. It’s very hot here, and the ground is a beautiful sandy orange. Outside our compound there are donkeys, goats, and lots of chickens. The rooster never stops crowing.

I wiggle and wiggle my tooth. I can’t wait to have my own chicken!

Aunt Kadja has made my favorite dinner. It’s rice and onion sauce with African eggplant and tiny noodles. We all eat together around one big bowl. Everyone eats with their right hand. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get a piece of meat!

When I eat, I can feel my tooth moving, but it refuses to come out.

By evening, the world begins to quiet down. The family is home, and neighbors come by to greet us. The stars shine brightly. The moon glows like a streetlamp. Friends sit in groups in the courtyard. They’re playing games, telling stories, and braiding hair. Grandma N’na sings songs.

As the sky darkens, I climb into bed. And after a few stories from my dad, I drift off to sleep.

I hope my tooth doesn’t fall out at night!

PAUSE AND THINK: What is happening with Amina’s tooth?

Baba Wagué Diakité

Where’s the Chicken?

With the first golden rays of the sun, the noisy rooster begins to crow.

“KAY KAY RAY KAY!  It’s time to get up!”

The first thing we do every morning in Africa is greet Grandma N’na. We receive blessings from her. She takes my hand and holds it gently as she begins a long list of benedictions.

“May you rise high with strength and knowledge.”

“Amiin,” I respond after each one.

After breakfast, I run outside to brush my teeth at the papaya tree. That way I can water the tree as I brush!

Suddenly, there is a funny feeling in my mouth. My tongue instantly finds a gap where the tooth had been. I hope I haven’t swallowed it. Where is my tooth? I look down.

It’s on the ground!

I pick it up and run to show my parents. My mom is surprised. My dad helps me place it under a gourd behind the bedroom window. I am so proud. I lost my tooth in Africa! Soon, I will have a chicken of my very own.

All morning I play with my cousins, waiting for a chicken to come. But nothing happens.

We eat lunch and take a short nap. Still no chicken.

We take a walk by the little creek. We watch a busy bird building its hanging nest in a palm tree. When we get home, it’s already time to take our bucket baths. The day is almost finished. But no chicken has come.

Finally, I go to take back my tooth. I feel sad. Maybe the African Tooth Fairy has forgotten.

But right as I turn over the gourd, two chickens pop out! One rooster and one hen.

PAUSE AND THINK: What did the African Tooth Fairy bring Amina?

Waiting for Eggs

Right away, I take care of my chickens. I feed them and give them water. My mom and dad help me build a little house for them under the stairway that leads to Grandma N’na’s roof.

Early one morning, I open my chicken coop.

There! I see them. White oval eggs in the nest on the dirt floor.

I shout, “SHAY KEELEEW! SHAY KEELEEW! Eggs! Eggs!”

Uncle Modibo says that chicks will hatch in 21 days! I wonder if I will see them before I leave.

When I help Aunt Sali with the meals, I like to peel the vegetables because I can feed the peelings to my chickens. When I finish with the vegetables, I smoosh tomatoes with my hands for a good-tasting sauce. I cut squash and cabbage into big quarters so Aunt Sali can boil them.

Later that day, my hen has laid more eggs. That makes me smile, because it means my chickens are happy in our home.

When I go to sleep that night, I dream about little chicks hatching. I’m excited to see what they will look like.

PAUSE AND THINK: What does Amina find in the chicken coop?

Baba Wagué Diakité

Goodbye and Hello

Finally one morning my dad tells me it is our last day in Africa. We have to go back to America. I slowly say goodbye to the things I will miss.

“KAWN-BAY,” I say to the little mango tree.

“KAWN-BAY,” I say to the little creek.

“KAWN-BAY,” I say to Africa.

When the time comes to leave, I am sad. I say goodbye to my African family and friends.

Slowly I walk to the chicken coop to say goodbye to my chickens.

Then I see it. An egg is hatching!

A tiny, wet chick peeks out from a white egg.

“SHAY DEN! SHAY DEN!” I shout. “Chicks! Chicks!”

Everyone comes to see. They all congratulate me.

Just then, another egg hatches. I am very happy. But I’m sad too. I don’t want to leave my chickens behind.

“Don’t worry, Amina,” says Uncle Madou. “I’ll take good care of them. When you come back, your chicks will be old enough to lay eggs for you.”

I smile so big you can see the empty space where my tooth is missing.

And right away I begin to count the days until we come back to Africa.

PAUSE AND THINK: What happened to the eggs?

THINK AND WRITE

Imagine you’re Amina. Write a letter to a friend back home about your trip to Africa. Be sure to include details about the village where you stayed.

I LOST MY TOOTH IN AFRICA. Text copyright © 2006 by Penda Diakité. Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Baba Wagué Diakité. Reproduced by permission of the publisher Scholastic Press, New York, NY.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Fun Fact

Author Penda Diakité first wrote this story when she was 8 years old, based on what happened when her younger sister, Amina, lost her tooth in Africa. (Yes, she got a chicken!)

Check It Out

Show your students the gallery of work by Baba Wague Diakite, who illustrated the story. He creates tapestries, ceramic tiles, bowls, and more.

Teach This

Baba Wagué Diakité used this proverb from Mali to describe the experience of working with his daughter: “Raising a child is like planting a tree. When it is tended well, you will enjoy its shade.” Ask your students what they think this means.

Teach This

Show your students exactly where Mali is in relation to where you are--simply plug your town into this interactive map. 

More About the Article

Content-Area Connections

Social-emotional learning: Self-awareness (identifying emotions, accurate self-perception); relationship skills (communication, social engagement)

Social studies: Geography, African culture

Key Skills

Setting, key details, making inferences, simile, drawing conclusions, author’s craft

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

1. PREPARING TO READ

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

  • Ask students to look at pages 14 and 15. Direct their attention to the title, subtitle, and illustration. Tell them to identify Amina, the narrator of this story, in the illustration. What does the title tell about where Amina’s story takes place? What does the subtitle tell about what happens to Amina? Ask students to predict what the African Tooth Fairy might bring Amina.
  • Point to the decorative border around the illustration. Ask students to identify the two objects in the border pattern. How might the tooth and the rooster connect to what happens in the story?
  • Explain that Amina and her family live in Portland, Oregon. In this story, they travel by plane to Bamako, the capital of and largest city in Mali. Help students locate Portland and Bamako on a classroom map. On what continents are Portland, Oregon, and Bamako, Mali, located?
  • Have students look at the illustrations and subheads on pages 16-19. What is Amina doing in the pictures on pages 17 and 19? How does she feel in each illustration?

Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)

  • We have highlighted in bold five terms that may be unfamiliar to students and defined them on the page. Discuss the meaning and pronunciation of the terms, focusing on how they are used in the story.
  • Preview these words by projecting or distributing our Vocabulary Skill Builder and completing it as a class. You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow, where images and audio help students with comprehension and fluency.
  • Highlighted words: continents, gourd, compound, benedictions, papaya

Set a Purpose for Reading (5 minutes)

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read and Think and Write boxes on pages 15 and 19. These features and the Fiction Reading Kit support the story’s featured skill, setting.
  • As they read, remind students to look for details that describe the setting of this story.

2. CLOSE READING

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • First read: Read the story as a class. As students read, point to words such as “SHAY KEELEEW!” on page 18. Explain that this means “eggs” in an African language spoken in Mali. The word is printed in capital letters because Amina shouts it. Tell students to pay attention to other times in the story when Amina uses words in this language. Use the Pause and Think question at the end of each section to check comprehension.
  • Second read: Distribute the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. Preview them together. Ask students to read the story again and answer the questions as a class or in small groups.

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes) 

  • Read the first section. How far does Amina travel from Portland, Oregon, to Bamako, Mali? (key details) She travels two days from Oregon to Mali. Her family takes three planes across two continents.
  • Read “Family Time.” What details describe where Amina’s family lives in Mali? (setting) Her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma live together in a compound. It’s very hot and the ground is a sandy orange color. Animals also live there.
  • What does Amina probably like the most about her African family’s compound in the evening? (making inferences) She probably enjoys being with her family and their neighbors as they play games, tell stories, and braid hair. She also enjoys listening to her grandma’s songs.
  • What does the author compare in the sentence “The moon glows like a street lamp”? (simile) The author compares the light from a bright moon to the light from a bright street lamp.
  • Read “Waiting for Eggs.” How does Amina care for her chickens and what does it show you about her character? (drawing conclusions) Amina feeds her chickens and helps build a chicken coop for them. The way she takes care of her chickens shows she is very responsible and caring.
  • Why is the last part of the story called “Goodbye and Hello”? (author’s craft) Although Amina must say goodbye to her family in Mali, she also says hello to the baby chicks that have just hatched. At the end of the story, she knows that she will be saying hello again to Africa when she returns.

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

  • At the end of the story, Amina says, “And right away I begin to count the days until we come back to Africa.” What details about village life in Mali make Amina excited to return? (setting) Amina’s family lives together in a compound. Amina brushes her teeth at a papaya tree. In the evening, neighbors visit and play games, tell stories, and braid hair. Amina loves to take care of her chickens in the coop where they lay their eggs.

3. SKILL BUILDING

  • Have students complete our Setting Skill Builder in pairs.
  • Discuss the writing assignment in the Think and Write box. Remind students to use the first-person pronoun, since they are writing from Amina’s point of view. They can include details from the illustration to describe the village where she stayed. Students can complete it in class or as homework.  

Differentiate and Customize
For ELL Students

Have students listen to the audio version of the story as they follow along or the new Text-to-Speech version. Ask them to pay attention to details that describe what happens to Amina when she loses her tooth in Africa. Then ask them to tell what happens when kids lose a tooth in their own countries.

For Advanced Readers

Ask students to reread the story and look for details that show Amina is the narrator. Point to the use of the first-person pronoun. Then have students write a brief scene from Amina’s point of view. The scene should take place on the day her family returns to Mali.

For Reading Partners

Ask students to read the story silently and put a check mark next to details that describe life in the village. Ask them to compare the details they identified. What is their favorite scene in the story? Why? Would they recommend the story to a classmate? Why?

For Struggling Readers

Have students follow along as you read the story aloud. Ask them to underline details that describe what Amina does throughout the day. Review the details with the group. If students could change places with Amina, which activity would they enjoy the most? Why?

Text-to-Speech