Before Stacey Abrams became today’s leading voting rights activist and the first Black woman in American history to become a gubernatorial candidate, she was a spelling bee hopeful.

Stacey is a kid who understands the power of language. Ushered from infancy into the world of books by her librarian mother, she is a devoted student of the dictionary and a diligent young linguist in her own right, squirreling away words in a dedicated notebook. Quiet and awkward, she finds refuge and clarity in reading and writing. When she is nominated by her second grade teacher, Mrs. Blakeslee, to participate in the school spelling bee, Stacey is thrilled. However there is one problem—she will be competing alongside Jake, the class bully, whom she has always shrunk from; but, “perhaps at this spelling bee she would be braver.” Readers follow Stacey as she painstakingly prepares, steps onto the competition stage—not once, but many times—and ultimately finds her voice with the loving support of her wise momma. The text is well turned, delivering both emotional resonance and compelling, albeit unromanticized, messages about the value of perseverance and the importance of speaking up for what is right. Thomas’ bold, vibrant digital illustrations use spotlights as a motif, subtly foreshadowing young Stacey’s future as a public speaker, and excel at depicting multiple scenes on the same page to create a sense of parallel action. Jake is White, and several illustrations include diverse representation.

This engaging, edifying, delightfully nerdy childhood retrospective from one of today’s inspirational leaders speaks volumes. (Picture book autobiography. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review

Stacey is a little girl who really, really likes words. She loves reading them, saying them out loud, and feels better when she sees them. She was in a spelling bee but got super scared of messing up. ( )

In this book, Stacey is entered into her school's spelling bee against her class bully, Jake. She feels defeated, which is when her mother decides to teach her about being glad about coming in second place. Throughout her process, she ends up coming in second to Jake, but through that she learns a lesson on perseverance. For age appropriateness, I would say this could fit in the intermediate realm. I definitely would recommend this to third and fourth grade, though probably not much younger. This could definitely be used in the classroom in many ways, including preparation for a spelling test (or spelling bee). It could also just be a book that shows students imagery of overcoming your fears and working hard to get where you need to be. ( )