Spell it Like Samar

An empowering story of persistence and believing in yourself! Samar has recently moved to America from Syria, and everything is new. Even the jump rope games at recess are unfamiliar. It doesn't help that Jenna, the class bully, keeps making fun of Samar's accent.  Samar decides to enter the school spelling bee to prove once and for all that she's smarter than everyone thinks! But learning the words turns out harder than she thought. Can Samar be persistent and compete in the school spelling bee? About the Author SHIFA SALTAGI SAFADI is the National Book Award Winning author of Kareem Between, the Amina Banana series, and several picture books, including The Gift of Eid. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature, is a former English teacher, and shares her favorite Muslim books on her blog, Muslim Mommy Blog. Shifa was born in Syria and immigrated to the US with her parents as a young girl. She lives near Chicago with her husband and four children.