I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer is one of the funniest books I have read in a really long time. The annual spelling bee at the Gordon Liddy Community School is a big deal. The event is covered by the media and the entire town gets involved. The spelling bee makes everyone lose perspective, especially the grown-ups. One parent breaks in to try to steal the word list. Another will stop home-schooling their child and enroll for the sole purpose of winning the bee. And the school principal, Mr. Floren, is absolutely up to no good. It is up to Chrissie Woodward, former life-time hall monitor and the principal’s hired gun, to find out if there is corruption in Mr. Floren’s regime. Meanwhile, the students are preparing for the bee in their own unique manner, which is difficult when the parents are losing it and weird townspeople are stalking them trying to gain the inside track to who might win. The students start out typecast-one is a clown, one a brain, one a troubl-maker- but by the end of the book they become friends as they try to do the right thing, avoid adult corruption and just enjoy the bee.
The chapters are, in rotating perspectives, depositions and testimony recorded by Chrissie. I Put a Spell on You is a silly, but cleaver book full of hijinks and fun. This is truly a great read-aloud book for grades 3-6.