The Snoop

The Snoop, by Jane Resh Thomas, is a simple story about a girl who visits a farm with her grandmother and learns a valuable lesson.  When Ellen and Bon arrive at Bon's friend's home, Bon warns Ellen not to go snooping around.  Ellen of course, is a curious young girl, so the urge to look through people's things is just too strong.  The moment Bon leaves the room, Ellen decides that, "just looking wouldn't be snooping (11)," so she opens a drawer and is fascinated by the ordinary objects inside. When Bon's voice startles Ellen, she drops the necklace she was holding and the beads fly everywhere!  Quickly trying to pick up the beads, Ellen stuffs them back into the drawer and rushes downstairs.
Throughout the day, the bead incident is pulling at Ellen's heart.  She broke her promise not to snoop, and she wrecked a necklace because of it.  When Ellen is caught snooping again by the owner of the home, Janet, she is afraid Bon will tell her mother.  However, Janet takes Ellen through the objects in each drawer, and even explains where the broken necklace came from.
At the end of the trip, Ellen has learned that if she is curious, she only need to ask questions and she will get answers; there is no need to snoop.  She also learns more about who her grandmother is.  Instead of snooping, in order to investigate an object or a person, all we have to do is ask.

If I were to use this book in a unit, I would focus on the relationship between Bon and Ellen.  I would ask my students to find an adult and interview that person about an object that has meaning to them.  For example, when my grandmother died, she gave my mom her wedding ring.  This is very special to my mom because it not only was my grandma's, but it symbolized my grandparent's loving marriage.  After the interview was conducted, I would assign a short essay highlighting their findings.

The Snoop. ISBN 0-395-85821-6. Jane Resh Thomas. Ronald Himler. 1999. Kerlan Award. Age 9-12. Children's fiction.