How to Spell Like a Champ
by Barrie Trinkle, Carolyn Andrews, Paige Kimble (Workman, $10.95 paper)
Spelling is hard; just ask the authors–all affiliated with the Scripps National Spelling Bee–who had to include an addendum with the review copy of their book correcting three misspelled words in the text. The dry nature of a guide to spelling bees is balanced by an interactive CD study aid and pages of splashy photos of kids actually s-m-i-l-i-n-g while competing.
1. The National Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal, began in 1925 and featured nine contestants.
2. There are four types of tricky words: exceptions to spelling rules (seize), words with double letters (accommodate), words with silent letters (subpoena), and words with schwas (separate).
3. “When you are given an unfamiliar word that originated in one language but went through another language . . . use spelling guidelines from the most recent language–i.e., the one it went through just before coming into English.”
4. “`Stationary’ is being still while `stationery’ is something that you mail.”
5. Avoid asking judges unnecessary, attention-grabbing questions. “The audience will smell showoff behavior from a mile away.”
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