Janae Marks
From the desk of
Zoe Washington
Zoe Washington is a 12 year old aspiring baker who secretly corresponds with her incarcerated father while navigating the complications of family and friendship. Besides keeping her secret, Zoe learns about wrongful convictions, struggles with friendship issues, prepares to audition as a contestant on the Food Network kids baking challenge, works as a bakery intern, and invents her own cupcake recipe.
INTRODUCTION
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Comprehension
Start Here
Before you crack open “From the Desk of Zoe Washington”, watch Ainara’s book review, and travel with her to meet and decorate cupcakes with author, Janae Marks.
Go Deeper
More to Explore
In each module, you will be invited to spend time exploring some of the ideas introduced in the book. Make sure you check out the links in this section to discover more interesting, cool, and fun stuff!
Get Creative
Get Creative
While reading this book, we invite you to create a diorama of Zoe’s room. You’ll include all sorts of elements that represent Zoe’s character and her experiences. For now, find a shoe box that you can use.
Some examples to spark your creativity:
Journal
Writing Prompt
In each module, you will be invited to write some of your thoughts related to the story. You will be given writing prompts… feel free to use these, or write about any other thoughts or connections that come up for you while reading. You can use your own notebook as a journal OR print this journal template to fill in as you go.
Here’s a writing prompt to complete before you start reading the book:
Do you think people are entirely good or bad? How do you think individuals reveal their true selves? Is it possible for a person’s true self to be revealed through a single action?
