Abrams, Stacey. Stacey’s Extraordinary Words. Kitt Thomas, Illus. Picture Book. Balzer+Bray, 12/2021. [32]pp. $19.99. 978-0-06-320947-3. HIGH ADDITIONAL. GRADES 1-5.
Based on her own childhood, political leader Stacey Abrams tells the story of a little Black girl who is chosen for the school spelling bee despite her nervousness. Her main competition is a white boy who is the class bully, and the other students represent a variety of ethnicities. The powerful story will help readers understand about perseverance and standing up to bullies. The text is fairly long with two or three paragraphs on each spread. The digitally created illustrations use deep colors and a style similar to the work of LeUyen Pham (Princess in Black series) and bring the text to life. There is a word list and author’s note at the end. This would work well as a classroom read-aloud for schools that hold spelling bees.
Penny Peck, San Jose State University, iSchool