Akeelah and the Bee (21 page)
The day after we returned, I was sitting at my computer puzzling over a starter chess program Dr. Larabee had bought me for my birthday when Mama knocked on my door. I told her to come in and she peeked around the opening holding a letter in her hand. It was wrinkled and coffeestained.
“I want you to read this,” she said.
“What is it?”
“A letter your daddy wrote me a few months before he was killed.”
“I don’t remember him ever going away long enough to write a letter.”
Tanya smiled. “He didn’t. We never went anywhere
without each other. But once in a while he’d have an urge to write me a letter. He said it was another way of communicating. Like the difference between TV and radio—that’s how he put it. Writing the letter was the radio. More intimate. Over the years he must’ve written me a dozen or so. This was the last one he ever wrote. I’ve never shown it to anybody—or any of the letters—but I want you to read this one. After you read it, it belongs to you. I don’t need it. I know it by heart.”
without each other. But once in a while he’d have an urge to write me a letter. He said it was another way of communicating. Like the difference between TV and radio—that’s how he put it. Writing the letter was the radio. More intimate. Over the years he must’ve written me a dozen or so. This was the last one he ever wrote. I’ve never shown it to anybody—or any of the letters—but I want you to read this one. After you read it, it belongs to you. I don’t need it. I know it by heart.”
She blew me a kiss good night and closed the door softly, leaving me alone with the letter. I sat at the computer and removed a lined sheet of paper from the envelope. He had filled both sides of the sheet.
Dear Tanya,
Sometimes I have a need to send words to you and through you to the children without seeing your face—or theirs. Words have always been my medium, just as kindness and caring mark you as the person you are. Charm is Devon’s medium, charm and constant good will. Nurturing is Kiana’s (how many dolls has she smothered to death with affection, leaving them in joyous rags?). Terrence’s medium is heroism: he wants to pick up the sword and slay the evil dragon. And Akeelah? What is her medium? I would like to say “words,” like me. But she has a far different relationship to words than I do. She dives into them, into their very architecture, and she’s what—seven years old? How can that be? She is brilliant, Tanya, but I’ve never told her so because she does not need to know. She will discover this about herself soon enough (I hope not too soon), in her own time, and in
case I’m not here to guide her through the complex steps that will follow this recognition, I depend on you.
case I’m not here to guide her through the complex steps that will follow this recognition, I depend on you.
I have one important request to make. When Akeelah turns twelve, please buy her a paperback called
Three Negro Classics
. The classic of the three I want her to read is called
The Souls of Black Folk,
by W. E. B. DuBois. When she reads this book, she will understand why I asked her to; the layers of meaning will speak clearly to her. I will quote you only one passage to give you a sense of what lies in wait for her. You will find it on page 220. (I have made a few changes to clarify and update it.)
Three Negro Classics
. The classic of the three I want her to read is called
The Souls of Black Folk,
by W. E. B. DuBois. When she reads this book, she will understand why I asked her to; the layers of meaning will speak clearly to her. I will quote you only one passage to give you a sense of what lies in wait for her. You will find it on page 220. (I have made a few changes to clarify and update it.)
“The training of the schools we need today more than ever—the training of deft hands, quick eyes and ears and above all the broader, deeper, higher culture of gifted minds and pure hearts. The power of the ballot we need in sheer self-defense—else what shall save us from a second slavery? Freedom, too, the long-sought, we shall seek—the freedom of life and limb, the freedom to work and think, the freedom to love and aspire. Work, culture, liberty—all these we need, not singly but together, not successively but together, each growing and aiding each, and all striving toward that vaster ideal that swims before the Negro people, the ideal of human brotherhood, gained through the unifying ideal of Race; the ideal of fostering and developing the traits and talents of the Negro, not in opposition to or contempt for other races, but rather in large conformity to the greater ideals of the American Republic, in order that some day on American soil two world races may give each to each those characteristics both so sadly lack.”
Akeelah will absorb the wisdom in this book, and my fervent wish is that, no matter what else she does with her life, she will add a chapter of her own to the unending struggle. That is my dream….
There was more, but when I got to the word “dream,” I couldn’t take in any more.
I looked at my father’s photograph. I looked extra hard to see what he was saying to me. “So you were there, Daddy. You were in the auditorium and I know you were proud, but this is only the beginning, right? Is that what you’re telling me? There are other places to go now, other things to do.”
I don’t have to wait for Mama to buy the book. I’ll pick up a copy tomorrow at the library. There’s no time like the present.
About the Writers
In 2000,
Doug Atchison
won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his screenplay of
Akeelah and the Bee
, which he later directed as a feature film for Lionsgate Films. He also co-wrote the screen version of Rebecca Gilman’s award-winning play
Spinning into Butter
. He graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema/Television and has taught directing and screenwriting at various universities.
Doug Atchison
won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his screenplay of
Akeelah and the Bee
, which he later directed as a feature film for Lionsgate Films. He also co-wrote the screen version of Rebecca Gilman’s award-winning play
Spinning into Butter
. He graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema/Television and has taught directing and screenwriting at various universities.
James W. Ellison
is the author of seven novels published by Doubleday, Little, Brown, and Dodd Mead, including the award-winning
I’m Owen Harrison Harding
and novelizations including
Finding Forrester, Two Brothers,
and
Rudy
. He lives in New York City with his wife Debra, son Owen, and daughter Brett.
is the author of seven novels published by Doubleday, Little, Brown, and Dodd Mead, including the award-winning
I’m Owen Harrison Harding
and novelizations including
Finding Forrester, Two Brothers,
and
Rudy
. He lives in New York City with his wife Debra, son Owen, and daughter Brett.
You’ve read about Akeelah’s amazing journey to the Scripps National Spelling Bee…
Now you too can organize your own spelling bee—here’s how!
What you will need:
• Small, numbered sheets of paper
• Name tags for the contestants
• Paper, pad, and pens
• A bell
• A 2-minute timer
• A table and some chairs
• A dictionary
SB-1
How to prepare your spelling bee:
• Set up a space for the bee by creating rows of chairs for the spellers, a small desk or table for the judges, and chairs for audience members (your parents and friends).
• Place numbered sheets of paper in a hat or a box and have each speller pull out a number. This determines the spelling order.
• Write each speller’s name and number on a name tag. Spellers should then sit in numerical order facing the judges and the audience.
• Place a 2-minute timer, a little bell, and paper, pad, and pens on the judges’ table.
• You will need two judges. Judge #1 will be responsible for reading the word and providing the language of origin and the definition. This judge will also write down the letters as the speller is spelling and check it against the correct spelling. Judge #2 is responsible for watching the 2-minute timer and informing spellers when time has run out.
SB-2
Rules for your spelling bee:
• Each speller has 2 minutes to spell the word. If time runs out, the speller is disqualified.
• The speller should say the word, spell it, and then say the word again.
• The speller may stop mid-word and start from the beginning so long as no letters already spelled are changed.
• The judge may repeat the word multiple times to ensure the speller correctly understands the word.
• The speller may ask only 2 questions of the judge: 1) Definition of the word, 2) Language of origin
• If the speller spells the word correctly, he or she sits back down. If the speller is incorrect, the judge rings the bell and the speller sits down with the audience.
• Once all spellers have had a turn, the next round begins with the remaining spellers until only two remain.
• The final two spellers will be given words until one misspells a word. The other speller is then given a chance to spell the same word. If he or she spells it right, the judge will supply a new word. If that word is spelled correctly, he or she wins!
(If the second word is spelled incorrectly, both spellers continue in the competition. The competition is over when one speller has correctly spelled the word that his or her opponent has misspelled, plus one additional word.)
SB-3
Words for your spelling bee:
You can find words for your spelling bee in your dictionary. It will list the definition and pronunciation for each word. Here’s a list of words to get you started:
| Dissect | Pacifier | Averse |
| Personal | Pontificate | Pester |
| Brink | Notion | Pontoon |
| Traction | Underwrite | Aisle |
| Carnivore | Benign | Niece |
| Nostalgia | Stark | Corpse |
| Dire | Brocade | Sarcophagus |
| Autonomous | Pummel | Albumen |
| Bereft | Rebuff | Knack |
| Nuzzle | Scant | Condominium |
| Elite | Pseudonym | Initial |
| Autograph | Inactive | Therapy |
| Burnish | Collect | Catamaran |
| Beneficial | Alchemy | Homely |
You can also download lists of words from the Scripps National Spelling Bee website:
We hope you have fun organizing your spelling bee! Share your own story with us by sending an e-mail to [email protected] and join our e-mail list to receive information on Newmarket Press books.
SB-4
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Finding Forrester
A Novel by James W. Ellison
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, a heartwarming nature tale about two tiger cubs born in the Southeast Asian jungle, who are separated from their parents and each other. 192 pages. $7.95
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The Bear
The movie
The Bear
was inspired by this exciting story originally titled
The Grizzly King.
Thor, a mighty grizzly, and Muskwa, a motherless bear cub, become companions in the Canadian wilderness. “As thrilling as the movie!”—
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208 pages. $5.95
The Bear
was inspired by this exciting story originally titled
The Grizzly King.
Thor, a mighty grizzly, and Muskwa, a motherless bear cub, become companions in the Canadian wilderness. “As thrilling as the movie!”—
Kirkus Reviews.
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The New York Times Book Review.
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Newmarket Press books are available from your local bookseller or from Newmarket Press, Special Sales Department, 18 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017; phone 212-832-3575 or 800-669-3903; fax 212-832-3629; email [email protected]. Prices and availability are subject to change. Catalogs and information on quantity order discounts are available upon request.
www.newmarketpress.com
www.newmarketpress.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form, without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to Permissions Department, Newmarket Press, 18 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017.
This book is published in the United States of America.
eISBN : 978-1-557-04917-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ellison, James Whitfield.
p. cm.
I. Atchison, Doug. II. Akeelah and the bee (Motion picture) III. Title. PZ7.E47648Ake 2006 [Fic]—dc22
2006012760
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