I Put a Spell on You: From the Files of Chrissie Woodward, Spelling Bee Detective [Library Binding]

Adam Selzer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

COME SPELLING BEE season, the tiny town of Preston erupts in excitement: the bee is televised, and the hottest ticket in town. This year, an assortment of sixth-grade miscreants is going for the top prize: Jennifer, an overscheduled free spirit whose parents are obsessed with her college applications; Mutual, a previously home-schooled outsider who's enrolled in public school for the first time in order to participate in the bee; Harlan, the class clown who has spectacular plans for making the most of his time in the spotlight; and Chrissie, the constant observer, who suspects something is off at the bee and will stop at nothing to get to the truth. Principal Floren is acting shady to everyone—but, as he insists, “I am not a crook.”


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–7—The annual spelling bee at Gordon Liddy Community School is a big deal. The local newspaper and television stations cover it and the whole town shows up. This year, the hoopla is even bigger than usual. There is a new, formerly homeschooled, student in sixth grade who some people fear may win. A student's father broke into the school and attempted to steal the master word list. Tensions are running high. Sixth-grader Chrissie works for the principal, gathering dirt on her classmates, but when information she gathers is used to prevent an innocent student from participating in the bee, she realizes that the administration may be corrupt and she uses her detective skills to get to the bottom of the big buzz. Framed as Chrissie's case notes, interview transcripts, and emails, this funny, light mystery covers the weeks leading up to the competition. The characters are set types—class clown, stressed-out brainiac, bad boy with a heart of gold—but they grow and change by the book's end as the kids try to do the right thing, avoid the adult corruption, and just enjoy the bee. This is a fun, silly read with a casual, conversational tone befitting all the different characters' voices. The hijinks may be wacky, but kids will want to keep reading to find out what happens at the climactic event.—Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“Smart and savvy on all fronts. . . . Full of read-out-loud-to-whoeverhappens- to-be-around passages.”
—The Bulletin, on How to Get Suspended and Influence People


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 256 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385904983
• ISBN-13: 978-0385904988
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,968,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adam Selzer is the proud coiner of the immortal phrase "you don't have to be smart to be a smartass, but it helps." He writes humorous books (both fiction and non) for readers of all ages by day and runs ghost tours in Chicago by night. If you can find two cooler jobs than that, take 'em! He is one of those people you hear about on the news who has to choose between paying off student loans and having a health care plan, and occasionally claims to be the third cowboy from the left in the famous "lost thunderbird photo." He is also credited by film historians as having inspired the film "Bedtime for Bonzo," which starred Ronald Reagan and a chimp. People who point out that said movie was released decades before he was born just don't know enough about quantum physics. Adam enjoys standing in long lines for tickets, and hopes to one day travel back in time to wait in line overnight for tickets to see a Charles Dickens reading. See him online at http://www.adamselzer.com