Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

When the Witches' Double Spelling Bee rolls around, young witch Cordelia thinks she'll be a shoo-in. Her skills are put to the test against thirteen-time winner Beulah Divine. Shannon's text engagingly demonstrates the relationships between words while Fearing's kinetic pencil and digital illustrations lend a Saturday-morning-cartoon quality to the characters and the comedic spell-casting action.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Spelling truly is magic in Shannon-s easygoing story about a purple-haired witch named Cordelia who loves spelling words and casting spells (when readers meet her, she turns her C-A-T into a C-O-A-T by adding a letter). After Cordelia enters a spelling bee, the mean-spirited 203-year-old reigning champ, Beulah Divine, vows to defeat the young witch; Cordelia wins by adding the letter R to the word -F-I-E-N-D,- turning her rival into an ally. Fearing-s illustrations add charisma to Shannon-s fun premise by dressing the witches in knitted sweaters and oversize plaids, and milking each magical exchange for everything it-s worth. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Mary Cummings, Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises. Illustrator-s agent: Sean McCarthy, Sheldon Fogelman Agency. (July)

ALA Booklist

When witches gather for a "spelling" bee, the rules require not just orthographic expertise but magical chops, too, because each contestant has to transform one item into another with the addition of a randomly selected letter. The competition can get ugly, as young Cordelia discovers after 203-year-old champion speller Beulah Divine changes her e-a-r-s to p-e-a-r-s and her h-a-i-r to a c-h-a-i-r in successive rounds. Nonetheless, Cordelia exudes confidence in Fearing's cartoon illustrations, leading a cast of pop-eyed, comically rendered witches with pickle-green skin. After a suspenseful buildup and a broad hint from her mother that may also clue in alert audiences ("She's a jealous old fiend!"), the plucky challenger puts her assigned R to good use, and she is last seen flying off in triumph with a huge trophy balanced on her broomstick. The ingenious transformation that Shannon himself works will spell w-i-d-e s-m-i-l-e-s from young audiences.

Kirkus Reviews

When young witch Cordelia enters a spelling bee, not only does she need to rely on her skills as an accomplished speller, but she must also use her wits to foil the competition…in the nicest way possible. Cordelia really loves spelling and is quite good at it, but Mama thinks she may be too young to enter the Witches' Double Spelling Bee. The contest is held only once every 10 years, and Cordelia wants to try. "I've studied. I've practiced. I'm ready to win!" Little does Cordelia know that the most recent winner, mean-spirited Beulah Divine, intends to keep her 130-year-long winning streak going. The night of the bee arrives, and the rules are clear. When called, the contestant selects a letter from a bowl, then must "choose something onstage and spell it. Using the letter…picked, cast a spell that transforms what you choose into something new. Spell the new word." Cordelia impresses the crowd by using the "R" she selected to transform a "S-H-O-E into a H-O-R-S-E." At the end, it's down to sweet Cordelia and vicious Beulah. Other witches might be cowed, but Cordelia believes in herself. She pulls out an "R" to zap Beulah, who is a F-I-E-N-D, and change her into a F-R-I-E-N-D. Shannon and Fearing combine their considerable talents to create a most bewitching tale of self-confidence and perseverance. (Picture book. 4-8)

School Library Journal (Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Gr 1-4 It is time for The Witches' Double Spelling Bee and young Cordelia decides to enter. After all, "She's studied. She's practiced. She's ready to win." Grumpy returning champ Beulah Divine, at age 203, is not about to let a little girl trounce her winning streak, so she plays dirty, turning Cordelia's ears into pears , and her hair into a chair . Young Cordelia, though, is able to both win and make a friend out of a fiend . With this "spelling spell," Shannon has used clever wordplay and created a downright fun language game. Fearing's quirky penciled cartoon images accompany this battle of the letters, showing green-skinned witches with big eyes and funny smiles. Classroom spelling bees will never be the same once young readers get their hands on this title. Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada