Explains many spelling rules and their exceptions, including those for spelling words, forming plurals, and adding suffixes.

Inspired by the author's tenure at "The New Yorker," a collection of whimsical, revelatory errors foraged from the wilds of everyday English includes entries ranging from "exit Jesus" and "doggy-dog world" to "for all intensive purposes" and "dairy airs."

Presents a history of English spelling through chapters that cover such topics as the introduction of the Roman alphabet, each letter's origins, and the development of long and short vowels.

The letter E has fallen and injured herself-- which letters will replace her and how will words be spelled without her?

Provides guidelines for spelling American English words; explains visual and sound patterns, letter combinations, syllables, compound words, and hyphenation; and includes practical exercises.

Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never to fit into her gifted family: her autodidact father, Saul, absorbed in his study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of his father's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant lawyer-mom, Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees in quick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined for greatness. In this altered reality,...

When her former best friend gets popular and leaves her behind, sixth-grader Ruth prefers to be alone, studying for the school spelling bee, until she finds a riddle in an old book.

Mizz Lizzie is the busiest bee in town, and she is determined to win the school spelling contest--but after studying all night she falls asleep during the contest, and when she finally wakes up she realizes that she has to learn to stop and smell the flowers.

Details the origins of Noah Webster's first American English dictionary and the struggles of Webster and Ben Franklin to help unify the new country through language in the 1780s.