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Frindle
- By Andrew Clements
- Genre: School
Common Sense Media says
Tale of creative troublemaker a surefire winner with kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that perfect plotting, lively writing, and clever though minimal drawings add up to a surefire winner with kids that may inspire children to explore language creatively. Nick politely stands up for his beliefs in a media onslaught.
What's the story?
Nick's creative troublemaking brings his school to a standstill and causes a national uproar. The new word he's invented is sweeping the country. But he may have met his match in his fifth-grade teacher, Dangerous Grangerous. Frindle is a word Nick makes up just to bug his fifth-grade teacher, who's a dictionary demon. This is nothing new for Nick, who has made a career out of wreaking creative havoc in school. But in Mrs. Granger he has found someone just as bright as he is, and they wage an evenly matched war of wits like a chess game. Nick is just as determined to get everyone to use his new word as Mrs. Granger is to stop it. When their "war conference" fails, Mrs. Granger deploys her black queen (the principal), and Nick counters with his white queen (his mom). But the prank spirals out of control as the word catches on all over town, and when it spawns a national fad frenzy, Nick is in way over his head. But Mrs. Granger, who seems to have lost, may know more than she's telling.
Is it any good?
This cleverly subversive story with solid values will have kids racing to the perfect finish. Author Andrew Clements never makes a misstep. Every single event is perfectly plotted and perfectly timed. The reader is torn between page-turning excitement -- don't be surprised if your children won't go to sleep until they finish it -- and the deep satisfaction of everything happening just the way it should.
The characters are unusually well drawn: Nick, the creative troublemaker; his bewildered but supportive parents; and, best of all, Mrs. Granger. Even though FRINDLE is never predictable, each moment unfolds as it should. This is a book that makes you start over on the first page as soon as you've finished the last just because it makes you feel so good. Read it one evening when you're depressed or worn out or fed up -- it's a tonic.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about language, media, and culture. Is the media reaction to Nick's new word realistic?
How is Nick affected by his growing celebrity?
Families can also talk about the role of dictionaries as records of culture and how words are continuously added.
Have you ever made up a new word?
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- Teens & kids
Kid, 10 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Cool Book Must Read!
When I opened the tanned pages of Frindle, I was swept into a world of language and the thoughts that collided in Nick Allen's mind. His ideas for the new word replacing pen urged me to rename every item in my house! Wonderful Book, and cleverly written. Must Read!
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Kid, 11 years old
February 22, 2009
AGE
i love this book i read it every year
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Teen, 14 years old
February 26, 2009
AGE
Funny classic.
As always, Andrew Clements did a great job. This is his best book. A must read. Nothing objectionable.
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Kid, 12 years old
March 16, 2011
AGE
I love the book. My sister just finished reading it with her class and she loved it. Great for kids aged 7+.
PS: im using my frindle to write this
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Kid, 9 years old
April 4, 2010
AGE
Frindle is awesome
I love this book my friend has read a handful of these books and I like them too
What other families should know:
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Kid, 10 years old
May 23, 2010
AGE
Frindle
I just finished reading the book, Frindle, by Andrew Clements. I am a fourth grade student from Mountaintop, Pa. I really enjoyed this book. I think other kids would also like it because it is easy to read and they would like the main character of the story, Nick Allen. Nick Allen is a very creative and funny fifth grader who is always using his ideas to get his teachers not to give the class work. The characters in this story are very believable. No one likes Nick’s language arts teacher, Mrs. Granger. She is extremely strict. Nick and Mrs. Granger are always at war with each other. I think the best part of the story is when Nick made up the word “frindle” for pen. Nick’s new word caught on across the country. Will “frindle” become a real word? Will the war between Mrs. Granger and Nick end? I recommend reading this great story to find out the surprising ending.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 12 years old
November 3, 2009
AGE
GREAT BOOK FOR KIDS
my teacher read this to my class in third grade and me and almost my whole class loved it!!!!!! great book for kids!!!!!!
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Kid, 10 years old
March 4, 2011
AGE
OK
It was an OK book. Frindle is a catchy word and instead of saying Oh My God I say oh my frindle. I'm surprised that the whole usa started using frindle in the book, but overall, it was an alright book
What other families should know:
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| Author: | Andrew Clements |
| Illustrator: | Brian Selznick |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | School |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | January 1, 1996 |
| Number of pages: | 105 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
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