How do you spell unfair? : MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee

Title:

Author:

Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956- author.

Morrison, Frank, 1971- illustrator.

Summary:

In 1936, eighth grader MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee. And with that win, she was asked to compete at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, where she and a girl from New Jersey were the first African Americans invited since its founding. She left her home state a celebrity—right up there with Ohio’s own Joe Louis and Jesse Owens—with a military band and a crowd of thousands to see her off at the station. But celebration turned to chill when the train crossed the state line into Maryland, where segregation was the law of the land. Prejudice and discrimination ruled—on the train, in the hotel, and, sadly, at the spelling bee itself. With a brief epilogue recounting MacNolia’s further history, How Do You Spell Unfair? is the story of her groundbreaking achievement. -- Amazon.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

40 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm

Genre:

Biographies.

Picture books.

Creative nonfiction.

Personal Subject:

Cox, MacNolia-Juvenile literature.

Conference Subject:

National Spelling Bee -- Juvenile literature.

Subject Term:

African American students -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

African American girls -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Award winners -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Spelling bees -- Juvenile literature.

Race discrimination -- Juvenile literature.

Racism against Black people -- Juvenile literature.

Author(s):

Morrison, Frank, 1971-

Publisher:

Candlewick Press,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781536215540

Publication Information:

Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2023.

Award Note:

Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, 2024

Call Number:

P WEATHERFORD

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003691360	New Picture Books	WEATHERFORD	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

"This moving picture book portrays a girl who met injustice with dignity and excelled."-- Booklist (starred review)

From a multi-award-winning pair comes a deeply affecting portrait of determination against discrimination: the story of young spelling champion MacNolia Cox.

MacNolia Cox was no ordinary kid.
Her idea of fun was reading the dictionary.

In 1936, eighth grader MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee. And with that win, she was asked to compete at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, where she and a girl from New Jersey were the first African Americans invited since its founding. She left her home state a celebrity--right up there with Ohio's own Joe Louis and Jesse Owens--with a military band and a crowd of thousands to see her off at the station. But celebration turned to chill when the train crossed the state line into Maryland, where segregation was the law of the land. Prejudice and discrimination ruled--on the train, in the hotel, and, sadly, at the spelling bee itself. With a brief epilogue recounting MacNolia's further history, How Do You Spell Unfair ? is the story of her groundbreaking achievement magnificently told by award-winning creators and frequent picture-book collaborators Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison.

Author Notes

Carole Boston Weatherford, a New York Times best-selling author and poet, was named the 2019 Washington Post- Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award winner. Her numerous books for children include the Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre , illustrated by Floyd Cooper; the Caldecott Honor Books Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom , illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer , Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement , illustrated by Ekua Holmes, which was also a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book; the critically acclaimed Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library , illustrated by Eric Velasquez; and the Newbery Honor Book BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom , illustrated by Michele Wood. Carole Boston Weatherford lives in North Carolina.

Frank Morrison has won numerous awards for his picture book illustration, including two Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards. He previously collaborated with Carole Boston Weatherford on Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual ; R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul ; How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace ; and The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop . Frank Morrison lives outside Atlanta.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 4--The inspiring team that produced Standing in Need of a Prayer shines the light on another historic moment in American history. MacNolia Cox, a champion speller from Akron, OH, persevered despite racist obstacles in her path to become the first African American top five finalist in the National Spelling Bee. Morrison's illustrations capture the emotions, tenacity, and strength of Cox and her supporters while Weatherford's free verse tells the story of a young girl with a gift for spelling (and an amazing work ethic) and her journey to the bee in 1936. Without shying away from the racism Cox endured, Weatherford keeps the focus squarely on the determination of the champion and her supporters for the opportunity to show her talents as a speller. Back matter expands on the story of America's racist history surrounding spelling bees and includes other remarkable accomplishments by spellers of African descent from last century to the present. VERDICT Another stunning title from a gifted pair of creators, this deserves a place in all collections as children will root for Cox and be inspired by her amazing accomplishments.--John Scott

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this thoughtfully conceived picture book, Boston Weatherford centers MacNolia Cox (1923--1976), who achieved celebrity status in 1936 after becoming the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee, thus qualifying for the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The narrative fittingly works in vocabulary words to tell the tale, for example underlining Cox's commitment in preparing for the national bee ("Can you spell dedication? D-E-D-I-C-A-T-I-O-N"). As Cox and her mother set out on their trip to the U.S. capital, where segregation sets them apart from white contestants, words such as famous and excited give way to terms like racism and unfair. Morrison's distinctive portraiture shows the protagonist meeting with Black legends in Akron, and juxtaposes the community support Cox enjoys in her home state with experiences of racial discrimination in the nation's capital. It's a powerful, word-by-word telling of a child's personal triumph. A foreword and epilogue offer a history of spelling bee segregation in the U.S. Ages 7--10. (Apr.)