Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox

by Grace Maccarone, Betsy Lewin

Bouncy rhymes makes this lively story about coping with chicken pox one that children will love to read long after their itches are gone.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Health, Fiction, Spanish Literature, Juvenile, 1st Grade

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Grace Maccarone is an American children’s book editor and author, notably of Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, illustrated by Christine Davenier, and its sequel Miss Lina’s Ballerinas and the Prince. She has also worked as an editor at Scholastic, Wireless Generation, and currently Holiday House.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple story about the uncomfortable spots of chicken pox. It was terrible as a kid and now children don’t even know what it’s like. I don’t know if that is good or not?

Terrible art. The kids did not like this and asked to get another book. They were curious what this was about. Neither of them have had the pox yet. I think they've been vaccinated against it. They were glad to skip this.

[Bradly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to people who feel sorry for kids would diseases. My favorite part is when he gets healed and he wakes up in the morning. His mom gives him a nice bath. I believe the author wrote this book to show people who have diseases to be optimistic and happy. God will heal you in time he did it for a good reason.

[Emily Holter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contemporary realistic fiction book will surely have children laughing and relating along with the main character. This story is about a boy that sees red spots on his face, which makes him realize he has the chicken pox. The story continues as he looks all over his body and sees these red spots. They itch him and make him feel sick. In the end, his chicken pox go away and he can go back to school again.

I would use this book in a kindergarten or 1st grade classroom. This book is a "Hello Reader" book, with a reading level of 1. This means it is appropriate for kindergarten and first grade students. This book has been designed for parents to read to children, for children to read to parents, and for children to read to themselves. I can see this book helping students of this age group read better because it's full of easy, rhyming sight words. I would definitely use this book for rhymes, independent reading, and for incorporating it into a health, literacy, or math lesson. I say math lesson because there is counting involved in this book. Overall, a fun read!

[Brittaney Ellis]

Text-to-self


I remember when I had chicken pox. I was five years old and it was horrible! The itching never stopped, the spots kept appearing, and I couldn't play with anyone. I remember my mom putting the thick white cream on me and it was never rubbed in all the way (lol). After the spots went away my mother allowed me to spend the night at my cousins house and she ended up catching the chicken pox next! I was so anxious to get out of the house I passed them on. Once I became a teen, I realized that children did not get chicken pox anymore. Then I found out that vaccines evolved.

[J.D. Holman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someday, this book will be irrelevant, and that will be wonderful.

I read this to my lower elementary classes last week, as I was recovering from shingles. Shingles is, if you're unaware, the adult version of chicken pox. Once you had chicken pox as a child, the virus remains dormant along your nervous system until the time is right. Say, you've been under a lot of stress. Then it erupts in an itchy, burning rash of welts and even blisters along a nerve.

My shingles are on my face, on my left cheek. Absolutely miserable in 2021, as we're all still wearing masks. I took a few days off work, partly for the fatigue, partly to give my face a rest from the coverings.

A few of my students have had chicken pox and could still relate to the book. Others have only heard about it from their parents.

It's a fun little rhyming book that conveys both humor and how miserable chicken pox is.

Please help make this book irrelevant and get your children vaccinated. Even though chicken pox might not be bad, shingles is terrible. And you can't get the shingles vaccine until you're 50. I'm way younger than that.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one book I read as a child but I don't remember when I read it nor do I remember having the darn chicken pox. Instead just re-reading this book I found myself thinking how so much similar the story sounds to when as a child I had poison ivy, which followed the same regimen although we got stuck with wearing kitchen mitts.

The illustrations are brightly colored and catch in all its frantic madness the driving insanity of those itchy bumps. And what it takes to just past the time until you are free to escape the confines of home and rejoin your friends at school.

The story doesn't have otherwise that much flesh to it but it will still be one that beginning readers will find simple to read with its simple words given sparsely over each page.

[Ashley Fischer]

With this book we could talk about being sick. It could be used to talk about good health and what to do to stay healthy. We could talk about washing hands and covering our mouths when we cough. This book goes through what it’s like to have the chicken pox and what to expect. I think it would be great to read to the class because some students have already gone through it and other will be going through it. We could talk about what will happen when they are sick and miss school. What they should do if they know they will miss school and then what to expect when they get back.

[Sapphire Moosman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many of us, I don't remember what it was like when I had the chicken pox. I know that me and my older brother had them together but that is about it. This isn't exactly the best way to try and remember that but is very cute way. It is also a good book to read to a child before they get chicken pox so that when it does happen they aren't frightened. Kids, when the first get sick, tend to be scared, so this is a good way to warn them and get them ready for it.

Have fun reading!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is great for beginning readers but lacks in content. There isn't a lot to be learned from this book. It is very simple. The illustrations are fun however. The boy is covered in itchy chicken pox and the illustarter does a good job of getting that point across. I would recommend this book to any beginning reader or a teacher of kindergarten.

[Rebecca Durham sagoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorable and laughable for all kids, but especially for those who have chicken pox. I wish this book had been around when I was going through this miserable childhood disease. While reading this book it gave me a good laugh because the little boy was going through the long process of being itchy with the chicken pox. This should be in every home!

[Zoraya Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this would be a very fun book to read with my students! All children will one day be able to relate to this story, as they may all experience or know someone who experiences chicken pox as a child. This book can be used to open up a lesson about what it is, how we get it, what to expect and how to deal with it. We can also use this book for counting.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another easy-to-read book (repetition, etc.). I loved reading this book to my mom because there is a kind of rhyme feel to it. Most younger children can relate to having the chicken pox. Fun but simple illustrations.

[Kathryn Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be perfect for take home reading. When a student is home sick, this may be a good choice to send for encouragement. It can aslo be used in phonics to explain the 'ch' sound. Easy and light read with repetitive vocabulary.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although most children get vaccinated and don't really get chicken pox anymore, this is a great book when talking about how sometimes we need to miss school because we are sick. This book also has lots of rhyming words. This book has been recommended for children preschool age to 1st grade.

[Clarabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a good introduction story, and even has some basic counting in it, but it doesn't tell you very much about chicken pox. everything in it is very simply done, including the pictures, sentences and ideas. I would probably not use this in any classroom setting.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book doesn't provide much in the way of information about chicken pox, but it is still an easy and fun read about a boy who is covered all over with chicken pox and how itchy they are and how he can't scratch. Might be fun to read with a child if they get chicken pox.

[Alexandria Tietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be really cute to use for a child who has the chicken pox. It will help them to understand what they are going to experience. I enjoyed this book and think it would be great to read to children.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of this book lies in its language (i.e. itchy itchy I feel twitchy). When it was translated to Arabic it lost some of its beauty.

[Ashanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learened that it is very imporotant to get your chiken pox shot or else you will get chiken pox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[a N d i E {o,o} · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a really fun book for me when I was young!

[Tynisha Thompkins]

Great book for 1st graders!

[Amber]

1 copy available

[Tanika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about a little boy that has the chicken pox. This book is an easy read and good for beginner readers.

[Alexis Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a good bokk but had very small words in it but the book was alright!

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is great for beginning readers. It is about a little boy with chicken pox. It lacks a deep message for the story, but is great for readers starting out. its simple, with fun pictures.

[Furbjr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 3 year old and my 7 year old when we were waiting for a prescription at our local health clinic. Everyone laughed out-loud. It was a great read!

[Lavinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chicken pox were itching for the boy a lot. Every day he got better. Finally, he was so better, and no more chicken pox, and he got to go to school. I like this book.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for children who may be dealing with chicken pox or have experienced them before. The colorful illustrations and simple words makes this a great book for beginner readers.

[Heather Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

megan winter reading 2016, children's book, leveled reader, easy reader, book box 10, chicken pox, first grade

[AbigailMay2005 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I read by myself to my parents.