Stacey’s Extraordinary Words
STACEY'S EXTRAORDINARY WORDS
Stacey Abrams, illustrated by Kitt Thomas, Harper Collins, 2021
Stacey’s Extraordinary Words is a real-life story drawn from the early life of writer, politician, and activist Stacey Abrams. Little Stacey’s love of words and spelling will inspire students to learn vocabulary from the book, and the warm, vibrant illustrations will evoke empathy for Stacey as she stands up to a bully. The tension and sense of competition build in this tale of perseverance and self-confidence.
Discussion questions
Stacey says that sometimes “words understood her better than people did.” What does she mean when she says this?
What is perseverance? How does Stacey persevere?
Does this story have a happy ending? Why or why not?
How did participating in the spelling bee change Stacey’s life? (read author’s note)
Vocabulary
anxious - worried
perseverance - determined persistence, keep trying for something
grumpy - annoyed
blunder - a fumble or mistake
whisk - brush away or move quickly
courteous - showing good manners and politeness
Video content
Learn about the roots behind big words from a clip of Akeelah and the Bee
2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion Zaila Avant-garde makes history
Publisher content
Activities
As a class, brainstorm strategies that help you remember how to spell words. Do you tap them or have ways of remembering tricky letters?
As you are reading, record the spelling words Stacey and other students are given. Have students choose three words at the end to look up the definitions using a copy of the list in the back of the book or in a dictionary. For each word, have students create their own sentence using the word.
Have students make their own notebooks to record their own extraordinary words. They can draw illustrations of these words on the cover, or you can include a section with each entry for an illustration.
Brainstorm a list of emotions you might feel throughout the school day. Then use an online or print thesaurus to list more complex synonyms for these emotions, and write a story about how you felt throughout your day.
Stacey Abrams
Author
staceyabrams.com
Stacey Abrams is a voting rights activist, political leader, and a #1 New York Time bestselling author. She received degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and Yale Law School. She worked as a tax attorney, and served for eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives. She became the first Black Minority Leader in the House in 2011. She lost the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018 by 1% and then created the organization Fair Fight to protect voting rights.
Katelan (Kitt) Thomas
Illustrator
katelanthomas.portfoliobox.net/
Katelan (Kitt) Thomas (They/She) is a first-generation Lucian American author-illustrator and graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in visual studies. Kitt’s mission is to celebrate Black culture with their drawings and to encourage inclusion in all forms of art, as they found it hard to see themself properly represented in the media they enjoyed growing up.
Companion books
EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE
Pauline David-Sax, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
THE SPELLING BEE
BEFORE RECESS
Deborah Lee Rose, illustrated by Carey Armstrong-Ellis
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM DARED: THE STORY OF THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN IN CONGRESS
Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by April Harrison)