Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is nothing to be concerned about here, and lots to cheer. It's a story that even reluctant readers can love about good-hearted children and adults who grow in compassion and understanding.
Families can talk about silence and civil disobedience. Why does the silence seem so powerful? How does it change everyone's perceptions? What do you think of the standoff between Dave and the principal?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Ok, let's just state it baldly: Andrew Clements is a genius. Nobody, but nobody, is doing, or seems able to do, what he does with children's literature. Like this one, his books are short, simple, easy to read, and ear-to-ear-grinningly delightful from beginning to end. They have no villains, sex, violence, drugs, or off-color language or humor. They take place mostly at school, usually involving the complicated relationships between teachers and students. And they are profoundly thought-provoking, funny, often moving, deeply wise and empathetic, and diamond-sharp in their clarity and understanding of the world of middle-grade children.
Clements' classic is Frindle, but NO TALKING is up to that standard. He packs enough intellectual and emotional depth to keep avid readers thinking and discussing, and his straightforward, conversational style will appeal to reluctant readers. The content will keep discussion groups hopping, while the fluid joy of the story keeps individual readers and listeners grinning with pleasure. Middle grade books don't get much better than this.
From The Book
And that was the moment when Dave completely forgot about keeping silent, and he turned around and almost shouted, "If you had to shut up for five minutes, I bet the whole top of your head would explode!"
And Dave was glad he'd said it, even if it wasn't nice, and even though it ended his experiment. Because after he said it, Lynsey stopped talking.
Plot Summary:
Dave's fifth grade class is called "The Unshushables" by their teachers because of their constant talking. His grade is also unusually immature when it comes to boys and girls getting along with each other.
When Dave reads that Gandhi didn't talk for one day each week, he is intrigued and decides to try it out himself. But he only makes it until lunch before getting into an argument with Lynsey, the leader of the girls, and they end up making a bet: two days of no talking, boys against girls. Whichever side talks less, wins. Not talking, though, is harder than it seems, and has all sorts of unintended consequences -- including a confrontation with the principal, who has been trying to get them to stop talking for years.
Related Books:
Other Books by Andrew Clements:
The Landry News
The School Story
The Janitor's Boy
Things Not Seen
The Jacket
A Week in the Woods
The Report Card
The Last Holiday Concert
Lunch Money
Frindle
Things Hoped For
More Delightful School Stories:
A Word to the Wise by Jane Lawrence Mali and Alison Cragin Herzig
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Betty Bao Lord
Stargone John by Ellen Kindt McKenzie
Someday Angeline by Louis Sachar
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar
Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli
Bad Girls by Cynthia Voigt
My Life as a Fifth Grade Comedian by Elizabeth Levy
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Loser by Jerry Spinelli
Sparks by Graham McNamee
Trout and Me by Susan Shreve
Sahara Special by Esmé Raji Codell
The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck
Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love by Maryrose Wood
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Related Web Sites:
Author's Site
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