Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford

 

On Saturday, I read Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and How Do You Spell Unfair?: Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford. Ain't Burned All the Bright is an illustrated poetry book that shows what it was like to be Black in America during the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. Through three breaths, it tells the story of a boy whose mother won't turn the news off while his dad is sick with COVID-19 in the bedroom. As he watches constant violence and systemic racism on the news and worries about his dad, he feels like he can't breathe.

I thought this book was incredibly impactful. Most of all, I loved how the illustrations were created by Jason Griffin using mixed media because they captured the mood of the story, but I also felt a great deal of empathy for the boy through the words of the story. Each breath, or chapter, starts in a similar way and I think it really captured the repetition of the news and how watching the same horror over and over made the boy feel. A few lines that stood out to me were when the boy was describing his dad's cough in the second breath: "and why his cough sounds like something is living inside him and dying inside him at the same time and why it sounds like something in him is breaking up and breaking down at the same time". I could just imagine how concerning that would be for the boy. Overall, this book shines a light on the experience of Black people during the pandemic and I recommend it to anyone.

The second book I read, How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee, is a nonfiction picture book that tells the story of MacNolia Cox from when she won her school and city spelling bees in 1936 to her experience in the National Spelling Bee. Even though she was treated like a celebrity in her hometown of Akron, Ohio, she faced racism on the train to Washington, D.C., by the hotel where the rest of the spellers were staying, and during the spelling bee itself. Despite the challenges, MacNolia's achievement as one of the first African Africans to be invited to the National Spelling Bee was groundbreaking.

I always loved participating in spelling bees when I was a kid, so I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about MacNolia Cox. It was awesome that she became the first African American to win the Akron Spelling Bee in Ohio and then a finalist in the National Spelling Bee. As I read the book, I definitely thought it was unfair that MacNolia faced discrimination during the National Spelling Bee. It must have been frustrating for her as a talented speller who studied so hard to prepare. I liked that the book spelled out important words like "famous", "dedication", "discrimination", "racism", and more. It felt very fitting in a picture book about a spelling bee contestant. The oil and spray paint illustrations by Frank Morrison were gorgeous, and I was interested by the information the author included in a foreword at the beginning of the book and an epilogue at the end. Additionally, there is a list of resources in a select bibliography. An inspiring story, How Do You Spell Unfair? is a wonderful choice for anyone who wants to learn about African American participation in academic competitions.