Sincerely Sicily

I discovered Sincerely Sicily through our course Professor's Wakelet. It was a 2024 Américas Award Commended Title, and a 2024 Best Latino Focused Chapter Book Finalist. Sicily Jordan is about to start her 6th grade year when all of the sudden a new middle school opens up right down the block. Enrolled in a new school while all her friends head off to the other middle school, Sicily finds herself facing a series of questions about how she can possibly be Black and Panamanian at the end of a class presentation. Sicily wants people to understand that she's proud of how she looks and how she's learning to braid her own hair, but doesn't know how to begin, especially when her beloved Abuela has something to say at home and it's not warm or encouraging. Sicily has always found comfort in words and writing, but can she find the right words to express how she truly feels? This is a beautiful coming of age story appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students. Author Tamika Burgess has created a voice for Sicily that is both vulnerable and empowered to explore and claim Black Panamanian identity. I would use this in my classroom as an option for student silent reading time, or reading groups. I'm not sure I would use it for full classroom read-aloud or instruction, but it does inspire some ideas for student classroom projects on their own cultural & racial backgrounds, creating space to explore the difference also between culture and race.