Empowering Florida's Future
Blog
Read our blog for a summary of the SSYRA Books and Orange Blossom Nonfiction Books. We’ve included teacher resources and parent discussion guides for each book.
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Billions of Years, One Talkative Narrator: “I, Rock: A Geology Tale” by Katie Slivensky
A Rock With a Lot to Say Most rocks don't get to tell their own story — but the narrator of "I, Rock: A Geology Tale" is not most rocks. Katie Slivensky gives voice to a single rock recounting its sensational, sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious geological...
A Year, Broken Down and Built Back Up: “365: How to Count a Year” by Miranda Paul
A Really, Really Long Time — Or Is It? A year can feel like an impossibly long stretch of time, especially to a child waiting for a birthday. Miranda Paul's "365: How to Count a Year" takes that abstract idea — one trip around the sun — and breaks it down into pieces...
Sneaking Out, Grounded, and Rolling the Dice on Love: “Dungeons and Drama” by Kristy Boyce
The Musical Was Worth It — Almost Sometimes the musical is so good you have to see it, even if that means sneaking out and driving without a license. That's exactly the choice Riley makes — and it costs her. Grounded and banned from anything theater-related, Riley is...
Small-Town Charm, Toxic History: “The Dead of Summer” by Ryan La Sala
The Perfect Vacation Town — On the Surface Anchor's Mercy, a small coastal town off the coast of Maine, looks like the perfect vacation destination: quaint shops, small-town charm, and postcard views. But underneath that surface is something much darker. Decades ago,...
A Magical School, an Ancient Secret: “The Myth of Monsters: Medusa” by Katherine Marsh
An Explosive Beginning Ava Baldwin has always tried to keep her temper in check, just like her mother taught her. But when a know-it-all classmate won't stop talking over her, Ava finally explodes — and her classmate Owen freezes completely, totally unresponsive. Owen...
A World Without Paper, a Book Worth Everything: “The Legend of the Last Library” by Frank L. Cole
A World Starved for Paper After a devastating Blight wipes out the world's trees, paper becomes one of the most valuable resources on Earth. Juni knows this better than most — after her parents died, she and her Grandpa Edgar have gotten by through "plifting":...