Frindle
by Andrew ClementsIll. by Brian Selznick
★★★★☆
Summary
Nick Allen is a very bright 5th grader who likes to step out on his own against the main stream. His teacher Mrs. Granger tells the class the history of how new words are made and Nick decides that he is going to create a new word of his own. Frindle. That was Nick's new word for pen. Pretty soon kids, then adults all over weren't using the word pen anymore, but the word frindle. Mrs. Granger tries to put a stop to it, but it was too late, the word had become a sensation.
Review
This book is well written, and I would recommend it for 3rd-5th grade students. Kids will enjoy reading this story of a word invention by a student their own age. Nick likes attention and can be a bit obstinate, but he is humble in the end. I think that most kids will be able to connect to this book easily. While this is a very good story, the characters are not very deep and some students might desire more.
For Teachers
Andrew Clements' webpage has a lot of good information that could be used in an author study here. More specifically is the page dedicated to Frindle including answers to some frequently asked questions about the book. This was a great resource!
If reading this story with a whole class, you should be ready for your own students to start creating their own new words. :) This died down in my class after a few weeks, but it was interesting for a while.
Technical Stuff (From Amazon)
- Reading level: Ages 8 and up
- Paperback: 112 pages
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (February 1, 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0689818769
- ISBN-13: 978-0689818769
