SSYRA 3-5 2021

 I LOVE the SSYRA (Sunshine State Young Reader Award) list.  In case you've never heard of it, librarians from across the state of Florida choose 15 books and kids from across the state read them and the kids get to vote on which one is best.  The books sometimes are ones that lots of people are talking about, and often are ones that haven't been on my radar, which makes it really fun.  They are always wonderful stories so it's a treat to get to read them!  

I just finished "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks.  It's about Zoe, who is an aspiring baker and almost middle school student.  One of her best friends has moved away, her other best friend is away for summer vacation and Zoe's really mad at her next-door neighbor best friend, because he didn't stand up for her when he was talking to some of his basketball buddies.  When Zoe comes home from her birthday party, there's a kind of surprise in the mail-a card from her dad, who is in jail.  Zoe has never gotten any mail from her dad and her mom has been pretty clear she didn't want Zoe to have anything to do with her biological father, but Zoe is curious, so she writes back.  Marcus (her dad) writes back to her and Zoe ends up with even more questions, like how did he wind up in jail?  Her grandmother helps her to connect with Marcus (without her mother knowing) and the questions snowball.  Zoe finds she has many things in common with her dad, like cooking and great music, but when her mom and stepdad find out that she's been trying to connect with Marcus, they are pretty upset.  Zoe believes her dad is innocent and does some research to try help prove it.  This is wonderful story about persistence and family.  It touches on the high level of incarceration among African American men and the racism that leads to many of them being there.  This also has fun cultural connections-the playlist that Marcus sends to Zoe would be fun to curate. It would also be fun to try to experiment with cupcake flavors the way Zoe does.  I can't wait to put this out for my students.

Here's a little book trailer!

The second one I read is called Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewel Parker Rhodes.  Rhodes wrote the amazing "Ghost Boys" a few years ago, so I wasn't surprised at all to see her new work on the list.  I was a little surprised to feel how perfect it was to read a story like this, right after the Olympics.  It's about Donte, the younger son of a biracial couple.  His older light skinned brother is good at sports and has lots of friends, but Donte, who has dark skin,  is still trying to find his 'thing'.  Both boys attend an exclusive private school but Donte seems to have become a target of a bully and the bully is getting exactly what he wants-Donte in trouble.  This time the trouble is real-the police come to pick him up and arrest him at school.  Donte is suspended for a week and while he's at home, he and his brother come up with a plan to get even with the bully-beat him at his own game, fencing.  But Donte doesn't know how to fence and can't join the school team, so he does a little research and finds out one of the best fencers in history is African American and it turns out, he's working at a Boys and Girls Club nearby.  Dante goes to meet him and is a bit disappointed at first, but convinces the coach to teach him.  What's great about this book is how many different kinds of stories that are woven into this one-the life lessons you get from fencing, the ways racial stereotyping plays out in schools, in the judicial system, in life, family,  and how friends and teachers can be found in surprising places.  I loved this book.  I can't wait to put it in my library.

Here's the cover.

and here's a book trailer.