Highlights

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'How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee' by Carole Boston Weatherford.

When life seems unfair, stay calm, persistent, and positive. 

The book 'How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee' Written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Frank Morrison is an historical non-fiction picture book. The book shows how unfair people were to Blacks and African Americans in the 1900s.

 MacNolia Cox loves to do all things literature, but she especially loved reading dictionaries.  After MacNolia passed a fifty-word written test, an oral competition, and won her school’s spelling bee, she was invited to the city-wide spelling bee, where she competed against 50 of the city's best spellers, in Akron, Ohio. 

She was nervous but composed, listening to the pronunciations and definitions before spelling the word. After the final round, spelling back and forth with another competitor, she had won! MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron spelling bee.  She was rewarded $25.00 and a trip to the National Spelling Bee Competition in Washington, DC.

Now it was time for the celebration! 

She was the guest of honor, all around town she ate, spoke, and danced with local V.I.Ps.  African American clubs collected money from fundraisers to help with travel costs, letters from far and wide all praising her work, and she was even given a necklace from her teacher Miss Greve!  Many people had prayed for her trip.

She studied and studied, three periods a day preparing for the National Spelling Bee. Once she arrived at Akron’s Union Station, thousands cheered her on, even a military band was seeing her off to the spelling bee in Washington, DC.  Even though this was MacNolia's first time on a train ride, she got to ride with the civil rights activist and journalist, Mabel Norris, Miss Greve, a reporter from the Beacon Journal, and of course, her mom!  

MacNolia was having the best time of her life and was very excited.

MacNolia was riding on a train where all people were included, but once she got to Maryland, discrimination started to peak its head.  They had to move into a Blacks-only car, that's how it was in the South, segregation was law.  Once they arrived in Washington, MacNolia and her mother couldn’t go in the hotel like the other spellers because it was for white customers only.

Instead, they had to stay with a black doctor.

MacNolia Cox and Elizabeth Kenney were the first African American people to compete at the National Spelling Bee.  Both Black girls had to sit at a table away from the other spellers. They also had to go up the stairs instead of the elevator. 

But despite all that, MacNolia was still determined, she was focused and calm and nailed word after word. After many eliminations, MacNolia was in the final five. The judges, mostly from the south couldn’t seem to stump her. They gave her the word nemesis, N-E-M-A-S-I-S, MacNolia replied.  MacNolia's teacher and the newspaper reporter argued that the word wasn't on the official list. The word wasn't a proper noun and referred to a Greek goddess which means it was unacceptable, but the judges stood by their decision.

MacNolia was out, but she didn’t cry, complain, whine, or anything similar to that, instead, she simply looked on the bright side. MacNolia had made history by becoming a finalist in the National Spelling Bee. The rest of the week the spellers went sightseeing, they visited the White House and the Washington Monument. She saw stamps being printed at the Bureau of Engraving; this amazed her! MacNolia took home a $75 prize and was honored with a big homecoming parade. Though she didn't win the championship, she had proven that African American students are equally smart as anyone and can compete and excel if they put their minds to it.  

That was the Triumph of MacNolia Cox.

I think it's important to consider the sensitive topics covered in this book before recommending it. 

While it may be a great resource for those interested in learning more about African American history and segregation, it's important to note that it does contain high levels of discrimination.  It may be best suited for those who already have some background knowledge of discrimination and are prepared to engage with these difficult topics.

My favorite illustration is seen when MacNolia is waving away, and thousands of people are cheering her on as she is about to go on the train. My favorite quote from this book is definitely when Carole Boston Weatherford wrote: “ MacNolia. Was. Out. But what an achievement! She had made history by becoming a finalist in the National Spelling Bee.”  I feel that it shows MacNolia's perspective on life.

This book will help students access a realistic perspective on the insanity of discrimination.  This story hones in on African American culture, which is truly interesting to me.  Not only are the words by Carole Boston Weatherford informative, but they are also creative, which goes well with the well-portrayed and realistic illustrations of Frank Morrison.

I would recommend this book for ages 8 and up because of the discrimination levels and the strong vocabulary.

This book review was prepared for the Center for Children's Literature at Bank Street College