GERMS

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)