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.
Welcome to Our Blog
Loyal Beyond Words: “We Also Served” by Erin McGill
History books tell the stories of the people who served in wartime. But "We Also Served: True Stories of Brave Animals in the Military" reminds readers that humans were not the only ones on those battlefields, in those skies, and on those seas. Erin McGill's...
Your Voice, Your Vote: “Your Vote Matters” by Rebecca Katzman
Democracy is not a spectator sport. That's the quiet conviction behind "Your Vote Matters: How We Elect the US President," a comprehensive, kid-friendly guide to the American electoral process that arrives at a moment when civic literacy has never mattered more....
Crack the Code, Find the Truth: “Codebreaker” by Jay Martel
Mia Hayes had a summer plan. Part-time job, college applications, the ordinary mechanics of a seventeen-year-old life moving toward its next chapter. That plan ends the moment federal agents break into her home and leave her mother dead. Her father is on the run. Mia...
Nowhere to Go but Together: “Best of All Worlds” by Kenneth Oppel
Xavier is already dreading the trip. A remote cabin with his dad and pregnant stepmother—no friends, no city, no escape route—seems like the kind of family-bonding exercise designed by adults who have forgotten what it's like to be a teenager. Then he wakes up one...
Two Brothers, One Fight for Truth: “All the Noise at Once” by DeAndra Davis
Aiden has always looked up to his brother Brandon—star quarterback, family hero, someone who makes the world look navigable. Aiden's own path has been harder. Managing Autism in environments that weren't designed with him in mind takes constant effort, and a sensory...
Indestructible, Undeniable: “The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting” by Natalie C. Parker
Tru has a skill set that most babysitters don't. Born into a family of assassins and gifted with the rare Talent of indestructibility, she's been trained in knives, stealth, and every other discipline her reclusive adoptive guardian could teach her. She balances high...