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Summary
Summary
When one young germ finds itself in the germ academy, he finds out that infecting is not really for him! Try as he might, he just can't work up the enthusiasm for sickness that his classmates Snot, Rash, Pus and Scab so obviously feel for the task. And when the sweet little germ is sent to ruin Myrtle's birthday, things don't work out as planned for Myrtle, the germ or indeed his horrible classmates.
Author Notes
Ross Collins lives in Glasgow where he works on his brilliant books for young readers. Ross has won a Scottish Arts Council Award for Supposing and is an original quirky voice in the world of children's books.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Young readers may not even suspect that they are being taught an important scientific principle as they follow the adventures of a na?ve, good-natured germ. Fresh from the incubator, Chickenpox 12087-2 (known as Pox to his friends) is sent to the academy to learn how to become a "proper germ"-the kind that makes kids sick. Even though he ends up at the bottom of his class, he is soon assigned a mission: to make little Myrtle get the chicken pox. However, once inside her body, instead of infecting her, he wins her immune system over to his side and comes up with a plan to protect her from the other germs. A lively cast of cartoon characters complements the energetic text. The spreads are colorful and full of eye-catching details, and a useful fact page is included.-Holly T. Sneeringer, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"A pox on thee," goes the old saying. But what if the pox won't cooperate? Collins (What If?) pursues this ingenious conceit with a sly text and mordantly comic watercolors. Pox, the hero, resembles one of Al Capp's Schmoos and is far too nice to fulfill his destiny as an agent of chickenpox (as opposed to the snarling blue Nurse). When his bunkmates at Germ Academy regale him with tales of how their ancestors induced mumps, tonsilitis, measles and the common cold, Pox responds, "But didn't it make the children miserable?" Ordered to infect a girl named Myrtle-"Mission: Spoil Birthday" read his marching orders-Pox decides to go over to the Immune System side, draws up a plan (a switcheroo involving Myrtle's dog) to defeat a second wave of germs and the child becomes "Mighty Myrtle, The Girl Who Is Never Sick." Collins's imaginative portrayal of the microscopic world involves a giggle-inducing melange of satire and gross-out humor: the germ for the common cold is a pile of unctuous snot; "Flight School" for germs means leaping off a cliff into facial orifices of a child dummy; the immune system translates into a diminutive white army of Myrtle clones dressed like Joan of Arc. Youngsters will likely deem this book a funny, fitting companion to the cold season. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A little germ is sent on a mission to infect a young girl with chicken pox. He enters her nostril, encounters tiny warriors carrying spears (they're her immune system), and eventually joins them in fending off fellow germs Pus, Scab, Rash, and Snot. The story contains some basic health information, but the silly plot is exhausting, and the illustrations are overbusy and synthetic-looking. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Sweet, eagerly gross illustrations improve this tale that's unsure whether it wants to be partly educational or just goofy. Pox, a chicken-pox germ, attends Germ Academy and goes reluctantly on his first assignment: infecting a girl named Myrtle. His roommates Snot, Rash, Pus, and Scab are villainously eager to wreak havoc, but innocent Pox is loath to cause suffering. Inside Myrtle's body he encounters her cleverly drawn immune system: dozens of black-and-white Myrtle-copies clad in knight's armor. Instead of fighting, he helps them foil all incoming germs. In return, he receives permanent residence inside Myrtle and the title Honorary Chief of the Immune System--and Myrtle never gets sick again. The premise of a good-hearted chicken-pox germ that can choose to work against illness doesn't make sense and belies the implied science education, but well-designed pictures provide cartoony amusement for the snot-loving crowd. (fact file) (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.