Thestudentsweresquirmingbutnonemadeasound,asthespellingbeeentereditschampionshipround.It’srightbeforerecess,andtheannualschoolspellingbeeisdowntojustthreespellers:CorneliustheGenius,SmartRuby,andTheSlugger,whoneverstrikesout.Roundafterround,thewordswhizzatthem,butwithoneminuteleftuntilrecess,there’sstillnowinner.Whowilltriumph?Itallcomesdowntoonefinalword,andacurveballthatnooneseescoming!DeborahLeeRose’scleverrhymingtextpacksalaugh-out-loudwallopwithwordsthatyoungreaderswillenjoyspellingandreadingaloudagainandagain.FunandwhimsicalillustrationsbyCareyF.Armstrong-EllisprovidetheperfectbalanceofhumorandsuspenseasreadersfindoutwhetherTheSluggerwillhitagrandslamorfinallystrikeout.Thebookincludesthreespellingliststhatcanbeusedforspellingbeesathome,inschool,atthelibrary,orforcommunityevents.Anauthor’snotedescribeswhyandhowwordswerechosen.PraiseforTheSpellingBeeBeforeRecess"Ienjoyedandlaughedmywaythroughthisepicspellingbeestory."--USAToday"Cutecharacters,livelyrhymes,amplewordlistsandagoodlevelofdramatictensionbolstertheclearmessagethattosucceed,youmustunderstandthemeaningofwords-notjustmemorizespellings-andthekeytothatisreading."--SanFranciscoChronicle"Colorful,expressiveillustrationssupporttheexcitementandanticipationcreatedthroughthetext.Thisstorywillfillaneedinschoollibrariesforbooksaboutspelling,vocabulary,sportsmanship,andschoolcommunity-building."--SchoolLibraryJournal"Thebook’spotentiallystatictopicyieldssomedynamic,imaginativeillustrations,createdusingink,gouache,andcoloredpencilsinaquirkystylethatsuitsthestory’stonequitewell.Alivelypicturebook."--Booklist"Fun-filledillustrationsbringthisbooktolife.Avocabularylist