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Reviewed by Demetria Head for Readers' Favorite
In Dragon Pox by Camille Smithson, eleven-year-old Hayden’s curiosity lands him in deep trouble after he tries to return an orange tabby cat named Mr. Muffins to his new neighbors in the old Anderson house. Strange noises from their barn draw him inside, where he discovers a mysterious machine and steals a blue egg covered in dark spots. When it hatches, a blue dragon with purple legs bursts out. Hayden names it Whiplash and hides it, hoping to prove he can be a responsible pet owner. But when his skin starts to itch and his neck sprouts lumps, things take a scary turn. The new girl at school and Hayden’s neighbor, Brooklyn Slade, finds out that he's the one who stole her dragon. She later reveals to Hayden that his symptoms are dragon pox, a side effect of her father’s experiments with “glitched” dragons. As Hayden’s symptoms worsen, Brooklyn turns to her late grandfather’s smudged, symbol-filled science journal to find a cure. But will she be able to do this before he turns into a goop monster?
Camille Smithson has written an imaginative middle-grade story filled with humor, weird science, and twists. Hayden’s character was relatable, like many children who want to prove they can be responsible pet owners. But sometimes that overzealous nature can lead to a series of hiccups. Brooklyn Slade is the witty, science brain who brought intrigue into the mix, and she had just as much to prove as Hayden, especially when it came to her science experiment with the dragon. The pacing was appropriately brisk, and Shareen Halliday’s black and white illustrations worked perfectly, adding expression and movement to each chapter’s main scenes. Fans of Andy Shepherd’s The Boy Who Grew Dragons and Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon will love Dragon Pox for its mix of humor, heart, and mystery.
