Sunshine State Young Readers Award

About the SSYRA Grades 3-5 Grades fiction books; RC! tests 15 fiction books; RC! tests Read at least 3 to vote in April Read at least 3 to vote in April On special shelf On special shelf Borrow one at a time for two weeks Borrow one at a time for two weeks Join Sundae Club when you read 5 Join Sundae Club when you read 5

The Earth Dragon Awakes Henry and Chin Henry and Chin Pages- 105 Pages- 105 Laurence Yep Eighteen-year-old Henry and nine-year- old Chin love to read about heroes in popular penny dreadful novels, until they both experience real courage while trying to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Historical Fiction

Someone Named Eva Milada/Eva Milada/Eva Pages- 193 Pages- 193 Joan M. Wolf Taken from her home in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in 1942, eleven-year-old Milada is taken with other blond, blue-eyed children to a school in Poland to be trained as proper Germans, then adopted by German families but all the while she remembers her true name and history. Historical Fiction

Eleven o Sam o Pages- 164 Patricia Reilly Giff When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings forth memories from his past, and, with the help of a new friend at school and the castle they are building for a school project, his questions are eventually answered. Mystery Story

Safe At Home Nick Crandall Pages- 175 Mike Lupica Playing baseball was the one thing that made twelve-year-old Nick Crandall feel at home until he found acceptance with adoptive parents, but he faces a new struggle to fit in when he becomes the first seventh- grader ever to make the varsity baseball team. Sports Story

The Girl Who Could Fly Piper McCloud Piper McCloud Pages- 328 Pages- 328 Victoria Forester When home schooled farm girl Piper McCloud reveals her ability to fly, she is quickly taken to a secret government facility to be trained with other exceptional children, but she soon realizes that something is very wrong and begins working with brilliant and wealthy Conrad to escape. Fantasy Story

Gil Goodson Gil Goodson Pages- 332 Pages- 332 Jody Feldman Gil Goodson hopes he's ready for the Gollywhopper Games. If he wins the ultimate competition, his dad has promised the family can move out of Orchard Heights--away from all the gossip, the false friends, and bad press that have plagued the Goodson family ever since The Incident. Now, the ride of Gil's life is about to begin The Gollywhopper Games

Kenny and the Dragon Kenny Kenny Pages- 151 Pages- 151 Tony DiTerlizzi Kenny, a book-loving rabbit, meets a dragon named Grahame. This gentle dragon and Kenny soon become friends. Kenny's only other friend is George, an elderly badger who runs the local bookstore. When the towns critters discover that there's a dragon living nearby, they turn to George, a former knight, to slay it. Now Kenny must figure out a way to keep his two friends from fighting. Fantasy Story

Masterpiece Marvin Marvin James James Pages- 288 Pages- 288 Elise Broach After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house, the two new friends work together to help recover a drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fantasy Story

11 Birthdays Amanda Amanda Pages-267 Pages-267 It's Amanda's 11th birthday and she is super excited-after all, 11 is so different from 10. But from the start, everything goes wrong. The worst part of it all is that she and her best friend, Leo, with whom she's shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven't shared together. When Amanda turns in for the night, glad to have her birthday behind her, she wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating itself. What is going on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell... Wendy Mass

OBI, Gerbil on the Loose Obi Obi Pages-197 Pages-197 Michael Delaney Obi the Gerbil is home alone! Obis owner is on vacation, and the neighbor feeding the pets has forgotten all about the gerbil tucked away in her cage. Obi loves her cozy home, but without food and water she must escape to survive. So, taking on the courage of her namesake (Star Wars Jedi knight Obi-Wan), she breaks out and meets her fellow petscats up to no good, a maniacal tarantula, an insecure snake, a grumpy mouse, and a crotchety dog. Obi finds danger, but also makes new friends as she embarks on her great adventure. This hilarious novel about perseverance and pluck is enhanced with funny cartoon illustrations.

Cicada Summer Lily Lily Pages- 167 Pages- 167 Andrea Beaty Eleven-year-old Lily has a passion for Nancy Drew stories and a secret she is keeping from those she loves. When summer brings lying, stealing, sneaky Tinny Bridges to town, Lily must be on her guard with this perceptive newcomer, or risk having her secret revealed. But Tinny wont leave Lily alone. She takes candy from the general store and blames Lily. She tries to steal Lilys friends and even her fathers affection. Then Tinny goes missing, and only watchful, mystery-loving Lily has any idea what happened to her. But for Lily, finding Tinny means confronting her hidden past.

Bird Lake Moon Mitch Mitch Spencer Spencer Pages- 179 Pages- 179 Kevin Henkes Mitch doesn't initially mean to scare the family that arrives at the empty cottage next to his grandparents'. Or lie to them. And so when Mitch becomes friends with the family's son, Spencer, he wishes he could take it back. All of it. A story about friendship and family, and that growing-up moment when you stop telling everything and start holding some things in.

Seer of Shadows Horace Horace Pages- 202 Pages- 202 Avi In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographers apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

Mogo, The Third Warthog Mogo Mogo Pages- 194 Pages- 194 Donna Jo Napoli When Mogo is cast out of his burrow to make room for a new litter, he learns how to survive and as an unlikely friendship with a young baboon blooms, Mogo finds the joy of friendship and love.

Piper Reed Navy Brat Piper Reed Piper Reed Pages- 146 Pages- 146 Kimberly Willis Holt Piper is sad about leaving her home and friends behind when her father, a Navy aircraft mechanic, is transferred again, but with help from her sisters, who annoy her, and a surprise from their parents, she finds happiness in their new home in Pensacola, Florida.

You Might Be on TV! Kids Talk About the SSYRA Books

In addition, we will have an in-house show on the third Wednesday of each month. It will air right after WDTS. Interested? There will be three, half-hour TV shows this year broadcast from the District Media Center studio. Students from several schools in Leon County will discuss three of the SSYRA books on each show. One student from DeSoto Trail will be chosen to represent our school.