How to Spell Like a Champ [With CD]

If you want to help your child win a spelling bee it is worth the investment. You cannot get by with out a Webster's third edition dictionary becuase you will have to provide pronunciation and definition to your child. Go more high tech and get the software version of the dictionary. It will save you hours of time looking words up. This Champ book has a nice layout. You'll get to see previous national spellers, see what some spellers chose as careers, spelling rules, most common misspelled words and spelling games. I probably read the book more then my 5th grader did. However he did win his school bee, his district bee, and placed 5th at his regional bee. The CD in nice too. Warning: The printer put a small slip of paper inside the book for words in the book that are misspelled accidently. Make sure you take an inkpen and change the spellings in the book before you hand it to your child. Chances are the little slip of paper will become lost.

How to Spell Like a Champ is an excellent book and really helps students with spelling. My son read this book, and became very motivated. He decided to participate in the school spelling bee. He learned excellent study habits and how words with different language origins have different rules. This book includes word lists, stories of past spelling bee contestants at the national level, and includes a CD that puts you in the life of a student competing at the spelling bee from the class bee to the final round of the National Spelling Bee. Three authors were involved in writing this book: Carolyn Andrew, Barrie Trinkle, and Paige Kimble. Carolyn Andrew's son won the national spelling bee in 1994, Barrie Trinkle won it in 1973, and Paige Kimble won it in 1981. My son was so motivated, and learned so much, he worked hard, and in result, won his school spelling bee, and got to compete in the regional spelling bee. In the regionals, he placed third. THIRD!!! I WAS SO HAPPY FOR HIM! I know he is excited about next year's spelling bee. You HAVE to buy this book. I would also highly recommend watching the movie Spellbound.

This book was actually very helpful to me. Not knowing what would it lead me to, i joined our school spelling bee club in December, last year. I had no idea that i would actually be in our school spelling bee. Then, we had our winter break; and over the winter break, i actually saw a re-run of the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee. And i was so amazed, yet motivated at the same time. That's when I decided, I want to go to the National Spelling Bee. Yes, it was the last week of December, and I hardly had any time. I mean, people who go all the way to D.C. study starting from the summer right? So just to get a start, I bought this book, How to Spell like a Champ. This book taught me a lot! The CD also did too. But the book was great...not only did it give you tips, but it let you live through the National Spelling Bee, and it included a bunch of words throughout the whole book! And there were so many interesting facts on every other page. It wasn't like those boring non-fiction books. And so, even though I started this whole spelling interest this year, in January, I'm glad I did. And the best part is, I'm really going to the Nationals this year. =) And it only took two months of studying. Did I mention that this book was a big help?

Before I review this book, I should tell you my story--a story of spelling. I am a 13-year-old 8th grade girl who was in the hospital twice in the 7th Grade, sick with migraines for seven months and out of school for almost the whole year. Just when I thought I could go back to school in September for 8th grade, I got sick again in October and was out until the end of November. The week I came back, my teacher lined up the smartest students in the class to spell words they were studying. Since I had missed all the spelling tests, I was not one of them. I knew that I used to be a good speller when I did go to school regularly and I always read a lot, even when I was really sick and I had to resort to audio books. So, I asked my teacher if I could participate. He nodded and in that spelling bee, I spelled as if I had never missed a day of school. Can you believe I tied as top speller in my class along with my twin sister, the #1 ranked student in the school? Since I was a winner, the next week, I found myself on stage in front of my whole school anxiously waiting for words with 11 other children hoping to win and represent our school in the District spelling bee. After a few rounds, because of my studying (and a little bit of luck) I survived to be one of the 5 finalists. My twin sister stood up next and was asked to spell "bureaucracy". She spelled it incorrectly and walked off the stage --- 4 remained. One after the other, student tripped up on hard words that the teachers were throwing at the students. There were two left. I was one of them. One would be the champ of the school spelling bee. The 7th grader had to spell "nemesis" in order to win. Instead, she spelled it "nemisis". She had tripped up, but I knew the word! I happily spelled it "n-e-m-e-s-i-s", and in an instant, I had won my school bee. I was going to the District Bee! Since then, I have been training for the spelling bee with my coach (my mom) and reading "How to Spell Like a Champ". "How to Spell Like a Champ" is one of the most informative books I have read. It teaches you about root words; Latin, Greek, Italian, French and Spanish based words. I am enjoying it, soaking up info like a sponge. It gives tips about how to study correctly, how to relax before the big day, and puzzles and crosswords with some words you might find in bees. The CD that comes with the book takes you on the journey of a spelling bee winner and made me more comfortable about the things I might encounter when I compete. You know how serious basketball players sleep with their basketball and football players sleep with their football? Don't laugh, but I sleep with How to Spell Like a Champ under my pillow. I suggest if you are going to a spelling bee --- whether it's a class, District, Regional or the National Bee --- get the book. You will be glad you did when you spell a word like "xanthosis"!