How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee

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.)