MMGM- Snoop and Ablaze

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

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Unleashing Readers

Korman, Gordon. Snoop

July 1, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Carter is on a ski trip to Colorado with his father and younger brother Martin, but is really more interested in watching the viral "Chattanooga Chop" videos on his phone than in experiencing the great outdoors. When his father leaves him watching Martin on the bunny slope while he tackles a harder run, Carter is so absorbed in his phone that he doesn't see Martin barreling right towards him. The resultant collision leaves Carter with two broken legs! Back home with his mother, who has custody of the boys since the parents are divorced, Carter has to attend Zoom school, but has little else that he is able to do, since even getting in and out of bed in the morning is a struggle. He turns to his favorite pasttime, screens, and becomes entranced by the video surveillance cameras up around town. At first, he uses them primarily to spy on his crush, Lacey, and her boyfriend, unpleasant popular kid Maddox, who has a group that does pranks around town, Chairmen of the Bored. Carter's friend Ethan occasionally visits, and the two even figure out how to break into the closed circuit cameras in the frozen yogurt shop that Lacey and Maddox visit. The more he watches, though, the more things stand out to Carter as troublesome. A man who seems to be casing a local art store where Carter's mother has a print for sale. (She works in photography, taking pictures of construction sites, often using drones.) A pregnant mother in the park struggles with her toddler every day. There's a suspicious red Maserati parked in the same place every day. And strangest of all, Carter keeps seeing red pandas, bonobos, and other unusual and endangered animals around town. What's with the Zipy Delivery Vans always around town? And the smell in the abandoned courthouse slated to be demolished? This makes him very distracted in school, although he does notice that his teacher, Mr. Grimes, doesn't seem to be doing well. Carter calls the police several times, but is eventually told to stop wasting their time. When Carter finally pieces everything together (and saves some classmated from an errant snow leopard!), will he be able to convince the police to help?

While this was an excellent mystery with fun and unusual elements, what I really liked about this book was Carter's screen addiction. Korman has addressed this before in books like Unplugged (2021) and Slacker (2016), but I loved how integral Carter's struggles were to his life. Screens caused his accident, made it hard to focus in school, and sent him down a weird yet ultimately productive rabbit hole. I don't want to spoil too much of the mystery! Carter knows he has a problem, which is more than some of my students, but still can't seem to tear himself away. He does manage to turn down Martin's kind offer of his iPad mini when Carter's mother takes away all his screens, which was encouraging and realistic. 

The other great inclusion was Carter's crush on Lacey, and his antithetical relationship with Maddox and the Chairmen of the Bored that causes the entire class, including his best friend Ethan, to avoid him. Middle school relationships can be a very delicate balance. I also enjoyed Carter's family relationships. His father doesn't live nearby, and his mother is very busy with her work. Carter borrows her drone for his surveillance, and is worried about damaging it... which doesn't stop him. He even has a good relationship with Martin, even though it has rocky moments. I'd love to see more sibling relationships in middle grade literature. 

Korman does a great job of putting a fresh spin on everyday middle grade experiences with heart and humor. It's also hard to suggest read alikes for Korman; maybe Singleton's The Curious Cat Spy Club, Kittscher's The Wig in the Window or Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy, if anyone still reads that title (which is as old as I am!). Of course, there's always another answer... just read more Korman!

Lawson, Jessica and Gonzales, Sarah. 

Ablaze: The Story of America's First Female Smokejumper

July 1, 2025 by Viking Books for Young Readers

Copy provided by the publisher

Deanne Shulman loved being outdoors as a child, and her concern for the natural environment led her to apply to work with the United States Forest Service, where her brother had also worked. Her job was to help fight fires by clearing brush and debris, working in hot conditions for long hours. This was her passion, so it's not surprising that she was interested in trying out a related job- smoke jumping. Being able to travel to remote areas to fight fires by parachuting into them was another level of dedication, but Deanne was denied the chance to do this in the 1990s because of her size, even though she passed all of the physical tests. There had never been a woman smoke jumper, but the Forest Service claims that Deanne couldn't join because she was under the 5' 5", 130 pound size requirements. Undaunted, she filed a complaint based on the Equal Employment Opportunities Act, and continued to train while it was being investigated. Eventually, she was allowed to work in her chosen field. The book ends with more notes about Shulman's career, as well as a glossary of terms. 

The illustrations are rendered in yellows and oranges, and have a smoky, soft focused look to them that makes the book feel very steamy! There is plenty of good information about wild fires, and also about what the job of fighting them entails. Seeing Deanne as a young child enables readers to put themselves in her boots and equipment. It would have been nice to have the years that various events happened right in the text, but younger readers won't necessarily miss them. 

Given the number of wildfires that have made the news in the US, this is a great picture book biography about a woman who broadened opportunities for others. It's a great choice not only for Women's History Month, but for Young readers interested in firefighting or forestry work, and would be a great nonfiction accompaniment to books like Rose's The Burning Season.