I picked up “Spelling Bee Champ” for work but was soon engrossed in its relatable plot and read it for enjoyment’s sake.
Claudia Mills incorporated universal themes into her story. Simon was a great speller. In fact, winning came easily to him and he’s one of those infuriating all-rounders you encounter in school. His best friend, Jackson, was certainly resentful that Simon beat him at everything, including gaming. You would think that Simon would be ecstatic when he found out that he was in the same team with Jackson for the spelling bee but he was understandably conflicted about how to navigate this strained friendship. Utterly believable.
But that’s not all. Simon was teamed up with the worst speller in class, Cody. As might be expected, Cody butchered all the words but ironically managed to spell the winning word for the team. (This meant that Simon and his teammates emerged as champions. Sorry for the spoiler.) This plot twist tugged at my heartstrings since I’m all for supporting the underdog. As a teacher, I find it convincing why Cody could spell the winning word accurately. As an educator, I felt that this book underscored the importance of exposing kids to varied experiences so that they could soak up knowledge like sponges naturally. Very satisfying resolution.
Simon also had another teammate, Annika. Annika played a supporting role in the book but she was the one who suggested that the team teach her dog to spell. Say what?! So, to sum it up, Simon had to work with three classmates who were very different from him for the Spelling Bee. He learnt that the sweetness of victory was compounded by making detours and gaining all these unexpected experiences. Which is what we want the young to know: the process is often as important as the end result.
Bonus: your child will pick up many words that mean ‘exciting’ and start with the letter ‘e’: exuberant, ebullient, effervescent, electrifying, exhilarating. Great vocab boost! #nationalreadingmovementsg #sgreads #bokstagram #spellingbeechamp #claudiamills
