Arthur's+Chicken+Pox

**SUMMARY/REVIEW**
Arthur the aardvark loves the circus and can't wait to go with his family on Saturday. Unfortunately, Arthur doesn't feel well and goes home sick from school. Arthur continues to feel worse throughout the week, until it is discovered that he has...the chicken pox! Arthur is very upset about the possibility of missing the circus, and his little sister DW delights in tantalizing and mocking him. However, as Arthur is pampered by Grandma Thora with chicken noodle soup on the sofa, a luxurious oatmeal bath, and back rubs, DW becomes jealous. Wanting the special treatment for herself, DW comes up with a plan to try and trick everyone that she has thechicken pox." But her plan falls through when she takes a bath and the marker "spots" wash off. Finally feeling better, Arthur wakes up on Saturday, eager to go to the circus. However, as DW comes down the stairs, she is greeted by giggles from her family and orders to go back up to bed because she has...the chicken pox!

Author Bio
Marc Brown was born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1946 where his passion for drawing and writing began at a very early age. Brown's encouragement to pursue writing and illustrating came from his grandmother who saved all of his artwork in her dresser (1). Brown's grandmother then went on to support Marc through college while he attended the Cleveland Art Institute from 1964-1969. Brown then went on to present his drawings to Houghton Mifflin where he was given a $5000 deal, which launched Brown's writing and illustrating career. Brown is best known for his creation of Arthur the aardvark...a character that has been developing for over 25 years. Many of the characters within his books have been based on people in his own life such as his grandmother (Thora) and sister Dora Winfred (DW). The students at the schools he visits and his own children also give him the inspiration to write stories based on real-life experiences for a school-aged child (2). Brown has written and illustrated over thirty Arthur and DW books since the first creation of the character in the book //Arthur's Nose,// published in 1976 (1). He currently resides in Hingham, Massachusettes where he has three children, Tolon, Tucker, and Eliza...who's names are hidden in all of his books (2).

**OTHER CHILDREN'S LITERATURE**
The Arthur series includes 31 books including //Arthur's Valentine, Arthur's Teacher Trouble, Arthur's Pet Business, Arthur's Family Vacation, Arthur Writes a Story//and many, many more! Brown also wrote and illustrated beginner books such as //Wings on Things////,// //Spooky Riddles////, Glasses for D.W.////,//// Pickle Things, ////From Whom The Bell Tolls////,// and //The Bionic Bunny Show//among many others (2). He has also written several chapter books such as // Buster Baxter: Cat Saver, //// Muffy's Secret Admirer, //// Francine, Believe It or Not, //// Francine the Superstar, ////The Poetry Contest//, // The Mystery of the Stolen Bike, //// Locked in the Library, //// Who's in Love with Arthur?, //// BINKY RULES, //as well as many other books.

PBS Kids also provides an electronic site with an abundance of Arthur games, printable coloring pages, and an opportunity to "meet the characters" behind the books and TV series. Learn more at: http://pbskids.org/arthur/index.html (3)

Brown’s Arthur books were extremely well-received by the public--especially younger audiences and sold over five million copies between 1975-1995. His success skyrocketed with the creation of the "Arthur" TV series with another 45 million copies of his books sold from 1996-2001 (2). Genre: Children's literature. //Arthur's Chicken Pox// was written and published in 1994 by The Trumpet Club, Inc.
 * HISTORICAL CONTEXT**

**MAJOR THEMES**
Family, Sibling Rivalry, Health/Wellness, Childhood Excitement, Nurturing/Care, Trickery, Innocence.

**CITATIONS**
1.) http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/program/about_mb.html 2.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Brown_%28author%29 3.) http://pbskids.org/arthur/index.html