Q&A with The Spelling Bee Showdown Author Dave Cole
- Common Deer Press
- Mar 12
- 2 min read
The Emily and Sam series continues with The Spelling Bee Showdown, which will hit bookstores in May! In honour of the new book, author Dave Cole has answered a few questions.
What inspired you to write this book?
I've been writing a lot of math-related books (The Math Kids series and the first books in the Emily and Sam series) and thought it would be nice to touch on another subject. I used to love spelling bees in elementary school, so I combined that with famous fables and the twins' natural competitiveness to come up with The Spelling Bee Showdown.
What was the most rewarding and/or challenging thing about writing this book?
There are so many great fables that it was a bit of a challenge to limit it to the ones I ended up choosing.
The story includes the relationship between the siblings. Why did you choose siblings rather than friends for the story?
Siblings and friends have different types of relationships. Sometimes you fall in and out of friendships, but you can’t do that with siblings. It doesn’t always mean you like your brothers and sisters, but you are always bound to them. It means you have to treat them differently than your friends.
Why a spelling bee?
It was a chance to show that twins can have very different personalities, different strengths, and different likes and dislikes. Sam is more driven by concrete things like spelling, while Emily is more creative.
Did you hide any easter eggs in the book?
Every book I say I’m going to do that, and then I get caught up in the story and never seem to do it.
This is book 3 in the Emily and Sam series, how do you keep the books engaging?
Unlike The Math Kids series, which focused solely on math, the Emily and Sam series allows me to look at different subjects (math, science, and reading so far), which provides opportunities to keep it fresh and engaging.
What are three middle grade books that you recommend and why?
I love the classic middle grade authors because they remind me of why I became such an avid reader. You can’t go wrong with anything by Beverly Cleary. Another favorite of mine is My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. Going a little more modern, I really like the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.
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