Spelling Bee Book: Free Printable PDF + Best Books
Download our free printable Spelling Bee word book (197 words, 3 levels), plus the official Scripps study list and the best books about spelling bees.
Key takeaways
- Our free Spell Bee Free Word Book is a printable PDF with 197 practice words in three levels, checkboxes and a practice log.
- If you're competing in a Scripps-affiliated school bee, the official study list is called Words of the Champions.
- Feed Me Words (2016) is a puzzle book for ages 6 to 10 made in partnership with the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
- For older readers, American Bee and the novel Bee Season tell the story of the bee from the inside.
“Spelling bee book” can mean two things: a book of words to practice, or a book about spelling bees. This guide covers both. Start with our free printable word book, then pick from the official study list and a few books worth reading.
Free download: the Spell Bee Free Word Book
Download the Spell Bee Free Word Book (PDF): 6 pages, US Letter size, free to print and share for personal and classroom use.
What’s inside:
| Section | What you get |
|---|---|
| How to use this book | A 10-minute daily routine and competition tips |
| Level 1: Starter words | 75 everyday words for younger spellers and warm-ups |
| Level 2: Commonly misspelled words | 64 words that trip up students and adults (NECESSARY, RHYTHM, SEPARATE) |
| Level 3: Competition words | 58 hard words with silent letters and borrowed spellings (SILHOUETTE, CHAUFFEUR) |
| Practice log | Lined page to record missed words |
Every word has a checkbox. The idea is simple: check a word off once you’ve spelled it correctly three days in a row.
Want meanings and example sentences to go with the words? Our spelling bee words with meanings and sentences page has 45 of them laid out for a partner to read aloud.
The official list for school bees: Words of the Champions
If your child is competing in a school bee that’s part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee program, the most important “book” is the official study list, Words of the Champions. Scripps publishes it each year on >spellingbee.com, usually as a free PDF, and school and regional bees often draw their early-round words from it.
Two tips:
- Use the current year’s list. It changes from year to year.
- Ask your school’s bee coordinator which list and which levels your bee will use.
Books for young spellers
Feed Me Words (ages 6–10)
Written by Kris Hirschmann and illustrated by James K. Hindle, Feed Me Words was published in 2016 by Roaring Brook Press in partnership with the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It’s a 96-page book of word puzzles, spelling brain teasers and short stories that cover things like silent letters, homonyms, synonyms and palindromes. It’s a good fit for kids who’d rather play with words than drill lists.
Books about the spelling bee
American Bee by James Maguire (nonfiction, 2006)
American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds follows five top spellers as they prepare for the national bee and goes behind the scenes of the competition round by round. It’s a great read for parents of competitive spellers.
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg (novel, 2000)
A novel about a girl whose sudden talent for spelling bees reshapes her family. It’s a literary read for adults and older teens rather than a study guide, but it captures the pressure and wonder of competition.
How to choose
| If you want… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Free words to practice tonight | The Spell Bee Free Word Book (PDF) |
| The words a Scripps school bee uses | Words of the Champions |
| A fun word-puzzle book for a young child | Feed Me Words |
| The story of the national bee | American Bee |
| A novel about spelling bees | Bee Season |
Make practice a game
Drilling lists works, but games keep kids coming back. Our free honeycomb spell bee game has you build words from seven letters, which trains the same pattern spotting that good spellers rely on. For how a real competition runs, including what you can ask the pronouncer, see how a spell bee competition works.
We’re not affiliated with any of the publishers or organizations mentioned, and we don’t earn anything from these recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free spelling bee book I can print?
Yes. The Spell Bee Free Word Book is a free 6-page PDF with 197 words in three levels, checkboxes and a practice log. You can print it for personal or classroom use.
What book do school spelling bees use?
Schools in the Scripps National Spelling Bee program study from the official Words of the Champions list, published each year on spellingbee.com.
What is a good spelling bee book for kids?
Feed Me Words, written by Kris Hirschmann and published by Roaring Brook Press in partnership with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, is aimed at ages 6 to 10.
Keep reading
Spelling Bee Words With Meanings and Sentences (3 Levels)
45 spelling bee words for practice in three levels, each with a meaning, an example sentence and a memory tip. US spelling, free to print.
Spell Bee Competition: Rules, Rounds & How to Prepare
How a spelling bee competition works: rounds, what a speller can ask, the retracing rule, how a champion is decided, and a 4-week prep plan.
Spelling Bee Answers: Today, Yesterday and Every Past Puzzle
Where to find Spelling Bee answers for today, yesterday and past days, when they update after 3 a.m. ET, and how to use them without spoiling the puzzle.