Sunshine State Young Reader's Award
2015-2016
Athlete vs. Mathlete
by W. C. Mack
When their two worlds collide in seventh grade, faternal twins and opposites Owen and Russell find themselves in direct competition at school, on the court, and at home.
Blast Off!
by Nate Ball
Fourth-grader Zack McGee's life is turned upside-down when Amp, a tiny alien, crash-lands in his bedroom, then causes trouble at school while trying to get parts to repair his spaceship.
Eight Keys
by Suzanne LaFleur
When twelve-year-old Elise, orphaned since age three, becomes disheartened by middle school, with its bullies, changing relationships, and higher expectations, keys to long-locked rooms and messages from her late father help her cope.
Fortunately, the Milk
by Neil Gaiman
While pickin gup milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.
The Fourteenth Goldfish
by Jennifer L. Holm
Ellie's scientist gradfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.
Freaky Fast Frankie Joe
by Lutricia Clifton
Twelve-year-old Frankie Joe Huckaby, forced to live with the fathe rhe never knew, a stepmother, and four half-brothers in Illinois, starts a delivery service to finance his escape back to his mother in Texas, not realizing he is making a better life for himself than he ever had with her.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
by Christopher Healy
Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav, all former princes who had been rejected by their princesses and cast out of the their castles, encounter trolls, witches, and dragons during their quest to become heroes.
The Hypnotists
by Gordon Korman
Twelve-year-old Jackson Opus is descended from two powerful hypnotist bloodlines, but he has just begun to realize that he can control other peoples' actions with sometimes frightening results--especially when the head of the Sentia Institute plans to use Jackson for his own benefit.
Kizzy Ann Stamps
by Jeri Watts
Kizzy Ann Stamps is nervous about starting at a new school that was just integrated, and wonders if she and her dog Shag will be allowed to compete ina herding competition because she is African-American.
Nerd Camp
by Elissa Brent Weissman
For ten-year-old Gabe, the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment is all that he dreamed it would be, but he must work hard to write about the fun in letters to Zach, his cool future stepbrother, without revealing that it is a camp for "nerds."
Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen
by Donna Gephart
After overcoming a number of obstacles, especially in the subject of eography, Olivia is on her way to Hollywood to appear on Jeopardy! and, she hopes, to reunite with her father who left the family two years ago.
Pie
by Sarah Weeks
Alice's Aunt Polly passes away and entrusts the recipe for her world-famous pie crust to her cat, which she leaves in Alice's care, and as everyone, including Alice, tries to discover the secret ingredients, Alice learns some important lessons about faith, love, and family.
A Snicker of Magic
by Natalie Lloyd
The Pickles are new to Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, a town which legend says was once magic--but Felicity is convinced the magic is still there, and with the help of her new friend, Johnah the Beedle, she hopes to bring the magic back.
Three Times Lucky
by Sheila Turnage
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.
White Fur Flying
by Patricia MacLachlan
A sad and silent nine-year-old boy finds his voice when he moves next to a family that rescues dogs.