MMGM- Evacuation Order and Born Reading

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

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Unleashing Readers

Mason, Jane B. and Hines-Stephens, Sarah. Evacuation Order

November 7, 2023 by Scholastic Inc.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Sam lives in Santa Bonita, California, along the coast. His mother works at a local hospital, but his father, a photographer, died of cancer two years ago. He and his best friend, Marco, love video games and hanging out with Sam's dog, Goodboy. Marco Nuñez is also helping Sam recreate many of his father's photographs. Marco poses, and Sam uses his father's darkroom to develop them. Things are going along as normal, with Sam's mother working nights, when the skies start to be very smoky. There's a wildfire raging, but everyone keeps telling Sam that it will be fine. At school, the classes discuss not only the causes of wildfires but also how to be prepared for them, and one teacher stresses the fact that people need to evacuate when told, not only for their own safety, but so that rescue workers are not imperiled trying to save them. Since Marco has a cousin who is a firefighter, this hits close to home. Sam puts together an emergency bag, but his mother tells him that he can't possibly take ALL of his dad's photographs. Sam's area is evacuated when his mother is at work, and Marco's family comes to pick up Sam. He sneaks in an extra bag even though the van is already full, and goes with Goodboy to the Nuñez to get everyone else packed and ready to leave. Unfortunately, Goodboy runs away. Sam takes off on Marco's bike to go to his house to get Goodboy. Once there, he finds his dog, but the tire on the bike goes flat. Marco has ridden over on his sister's bike, and the two try to figure out the best way to get to the hospital so that Same can be with his mother. They hotwire a neighbor's ATV, load Goodboy on, and take off. When they get to the hospital, everyone has been evacuated, and the emergency worker tells them the route to safety. On their way, they see Esther, the older woman who runs the local ice cream parlor, and bring her with them. They don't get as far as they need to, but have to stop and take shelter in a rock outcropping in the forest. Luckily, the are able to stay safe as the fire rages around them. After the fire, Sam comes to terms with his difficult relationship with his father, and realizes that losing his father's camera and photographs is not the worst thing. He also learns to be a better friend to Marco. 

Strengths: I don't know why survival books like these are so enthralling, but my students love to read them. Is it equal parts weird excitement and learning useful skills and tips? This about the popularity of Tarshis' I Survived series. Marco and Sam make a good team, having Goodboy along adds more complications, and I was tickled when they saved Esther. The details about the fire were very helpful. There are some chapters about the start and spread of the fire, and its effects on wildlife, that will please readers who want to know all of the facts. Mason and Stephens are a great duo for writing all manner of survival books, and I'm very excited to have this standalone to hand to students. 
Weaknesses: Oh, seriously, Scholastic? Another paperback only release? All of the boring, navel gazing "heartprint" books my students don't want to read (and I won't name) get hardcovers, and something they would LIKE to read is paperback only? But the father is dead; doesn't that make it qualify for hardcover? Having the father gone and having Sam obsess about his photographs add a layer of tension, and I did very much enjoy the fact that by the end of the book he had figured out a way to deal with his feelings, but his musings slow down the story a bit. Just will never be a fan of the middle grade dead relative trope. 
What I really think: If you are having a Scholastic book fair, make sure that you order extra copies of this, because it will be a big fan with readers of Philbrick's Wildfire, Henry's Playing With Fire, Davis' Partly Cloudy and Mason and Stephens' Rescue Dogs. 

And just a reminder of similar titles!

Krull, Kathleen, Loh-Hagan, Virginia, and Lewis, Aura (illus.)

Born Reading: Twenty Stories of Women Reading Their Way Into History
August 1, 2023 by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Book

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Kathleen Krull was the author of so many fantastic biography books, including Big Wig: A Little History of Hair, American Immigration: Our History, Our Stories, Louisa May's Battle, and Frenemies in the Family: Famous Brothers and Sisters Who Butted Heads and Had Each Other's Backs. She had a fun, engaging, and somewhat flippant style that made her books seem like we were reading about friends or neighbors, not famous people who changed the world. Sadly, she died of cancer in 2021, but left many works in progress. Her friend Loh-Hagan polished this collection of short biographies about women who fought against gender stereotypes to make their way in the world. 

The women portrayed all had different challenges to overcome, but they did so even when they were told that it wasn't their places or simply that they couldn't. While historical figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Wu Zetian's worlds were very different from the world today, even modern figures like Oprah Winfrey and Taylor Swift faced opposition in their rise to celebrity. Marley Diaz is the youngest person to be included, and young readers might be aware of her #1000BlackGirlBooks initiative. 

Each of the twenty woman has three to four pages of information, and a fantastic portrait by Lewis. This is arranged in chronological order, which is always helpful. At the end of the book, there are thumbnail biographies of a wide range of other women that will also encourage readers to find out more information about individuals that inspire them to think about their own impact on the world. There's a complete bibliography at the end of the book, which readers will find helpful if they choose to gather more information about their favorite person. 

It's never too early to get young girls reading, and this is a great title to add to any young feminist's library that may already include Chambers's Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote, Calkhoven's Women Who Changed the World: 50 Amazing Americans,  Rubin's The Women Who Built Hollywood: 12 Trailblazers in Front of and Behind the Camera and Favilli's Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World.