There’s No Pace Like My Own Home
by Florenza Denise Lee

Life isn’t fair. We learn this as early as kindergarten, but for some, like Alyssa, the experience can be downright challenging. Today is her first day at Lee Ponder Intermediate School, and along with learning new names, faces, and classrooms, she has to maintain her secret. One that she doesn’t want anyone to know, not even her new best friend, Onika. You see, Alyssa and her mom are homeless.

When Alyssa is assigned a writing assignment (to write a letter to a student in Alabama whose school and home have been destroyed by a tornado) that she bears her soul. It is when the note is lost and believes it has been found by the school’s bully, Marcus, that things drastically change for Alyssa and her mom.
This book has been enjoyed by readers as young as second grade, and the comments from parents, educators, children, counselors, and more may be summed up in this one sentence, "Although Alyssa and her mom are homeless, they are not hopeless."

The book may be used in conjunction with classroom Standard of Learning subjects such as Language Arts, Health, Social Studies, Government, and Public Speaking. There’s No Place Like My Own Home has been found helpful for Social-Emotional Learning to include (but is not limited to) kindness, gratitude, sufficient conflict resolution, positive self-image. The reader will also learn how to reduce aggressive behavior, demonstrate self-control, manage emotions, set positive goals, engage in positive relations, and learn to solve problems effectively. Lastly, the book has an anti-bullying message.