Germs

by Ross Collins

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. A fantastic and utterly bizarre picture book by the incomparable Ross Collins.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Science

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2004

About the author

Ross was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1972.
He would eat anything and resembled a currant bun.

As he grew up he was fond of drawing, the Bionic Man and precariously swinging backwards on chairs.

He graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1994 with a First in Illustration. In the same year he won the MacMillan Children's Book Prize an achievement that opened many doors in the Big Smoke.

Ross then spent two years in London cultivating an exotic image of the scribbling Scotsman abroad.

Longing for the cold and damp of the North, Ross returned to Glasgow, where he spends his time writing and illustrating children's books, doing animation character development, walking the dug by the banks of Loch Lomond and precariously swinging backwards on chairs.

from http://www.rosscollins.net/whothisguy...

Reviews

[Schuth22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite childeren's book. I love reading it for the second time ans seeing a the puns and easter eggs hidden in the book. The illustrations are delightful and the characters are loveable.

[Sephora Saint Georges · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fun way to teach children about germs

[Jj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could be fun to use with older kids in a classroom or a storytime about germs and hygiene. The illustrations are where it's at here.

[Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations. Engaging, original story.

[Kurt Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great illustrations. The plotline is okay, but the concept of germs, immune system, et al, seems a bit unexplained here, and over the heads of the age group of the kids who'd like the picture book.

[babyhippoface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pox, a nice chicken pox germ, goes against his training and, instead of infecting a little girl, he helps her immune system fight off bigger, uglier germs—Rash, Scab, Pus, and Snot. Collins’ illustrations are colorful and cute, but aren’t enough to lift this picture book above mediocrity. The concept of teaching kids about germs through a fun picture book has potential, but Germs is plagued by gaps in the story and a plot line that seems stilted and forced. A fact file at the back answers three common questions about germs and our bodies. Although not a stand-out book, Germs could serve as a motivational introduction to a lesson on health and hygiene in an early elementary classroom.

[Katie Bathke · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Germs there are a lot of different shapes. There are squares and circles, and rectangles, and oval, and also some free-form shapes. Most of the pictures are in these shapes and are outlined. The shapes of the picture make really exciting to look at. The round shapes seem to convey happiness and the free-form shapes are usually the germs. There are also borders on some pages. The words don’t really have a pattern they are sometimes on the top of the page or sometimes on the bottom of the page. They don’t have any real consistency.

[Amy Holliday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary of Book:

Have you ever wondered whether there were good germs and bad germs, or whether germs have to go to school to learn how to make us sick? In this book you find out all about germs, and perhaps learn that some germs are actually pretty nice, and don't want to make you sick!

Recommended uses for the book:

This book should be used with 4 and up because it is fairly advanced. It is a unique twist, and a good book for more advanced story hours and books to read at home.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really ready for this to be a cute book about a germ who wasn't like the others--it was that, but I wasn't prepared for the bad germs to be extra big bullies. This would be a good book to read to elementary school kids who are learning about germs in order for them to have a fictionalized view of them in addition to their non-fiction studies. It would require a good deal of discussion for children who are younger than 2nd grade reading levels.

[Leila T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did; part of the problem was that the story was a bit complex and abstract for my 3.5 year old. The other part was too much information on each page. And also I felt like the plot itself was a bit unrealistic for ... reality. Like Ratatouille.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a chicken pox germ who thinks infecting children just isn't right. Ah, if only germs in the real world felt that way.

The story is cute, but the illustrations are really where it's at. They are completely fun!

[Saunders Awards · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story presents wildly inaccurate information about germs. I understand that it is a fun children's story, but the target age group can enjoy a fun story about anthropomorphized germs while still learning real information about our immune systems, illness origins, and illness prevention.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a favorite for weeks; we had to renew it twice! Totally great.

[Misti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and funny book that teaches kids about germs!