Children's Book Review gave 5 stars to: Frindle

Children's Book Review reviewed:

Frindle by Andrew Clements

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Storytelling at its Finest, November 7, 2004 "If you asked all the kids and the teachers at Lincoln Elementary School to make three lists - all the really bad kids, all the really smart kids, and all the really good kids - Nick Allen would not be on any of them. Nick deserved a list all his own, and everyone knew it. "Was Nick a troublemaker? Hard to say. One thing's for sure: Nick Allen had plenty of ideas, and he knew what to do with them." And so begins the tale called "Frindle," a story written by Andrew Clements and quite the engaging narrative. Clements weaves his yarn around the main character, Nick, who happens to be a fifth-grader. "Fifth grade was different," notes Nick. "That was the year to get ready for middle school. Fifth grade meant passing classes. It meant no morning recess. It meant real letter grades on your report cards. But most of all, it meant Mrs. Granger." Though a tiny little woman, Mrs. Granger practically radiates fierceness when it comes to teaching. She's not harsh or mean (she can, according to other students, be quite funny at times), but she does demand a lot of her pupils. And because she is the only Language Arts instructor for their fifth-grade year, but she holds a monopoly. "Nick was an expert at asking the delaying question - also known as the teacher-stopper, or the guaranteed-time-waster. At three minutes before the bell, in the split second between the end of today's class work and the announcement of tomorrow's homework, Nick could launch a question guaranteed to sidetrack the teacher long enough to delay or even wipe out the homework assignment." During his very first class with Mrs. Granger (whom many students refer to as The Lone Granger), he can practically smell a homework assignment looming on the horizon. So he decides to put his excellent time-wasting skills to the test. He pops a question about her famous dictionary ("One of those huge dictionaries with every word in the universe in it, the kind of book it takes two kids to carry.") guaranteed to halt Mrs. Granger in her tracks. Only his plan backfires. Big time. It seems that Nick's notorious (although not mean-spirited) reputation has preceded him. She deflects his teacher-stopper without breaking a sweat. And not only does the class still get stuck with homework, but Nick also gets a second assignment, an oral report about the history of the dictionary, due at the beginning of class the next day. ----- "I still don't get the idea of why words all mean different things," says Nick the following day in class after giving his report. "Like, who says that d-o-g means the thing that goes `woof' and wags its tail. Who says so?" And Mrs. Granger takes the bait. "Who says `dog' means dog? You do, Nicholas. You and I and everyone in this class and this school and this town and this state and this country. We all agree. If we lived in France, we would all agree that the right word for that hairy four-legged creature was a different word - chien - it sounds like `shee-en,' but it means what d-o-g means to you and me. And in Germany they say `hund,' and so on, all around the globe. But if all of us in this room decided to call that creature something else, and if everyone else did, too, then that's what it would be called, and one day it would be written in the dictionary that way. We decide what goes in that book. "Who says `dog' means dog? You do, Nicholas." Nick is still thinking about this while walking home from school later that day with his friend, Janet Fisk. He's so lost in thought, he accidentally bumps into her, making her drop the gold pen she was holding. He bends down to pick it up out of the street, handing Janet the pen. And that's when it happens. Nick doesn't say "pen." Rather, he says, "Here's your . . . frindle." Frindle was a real word. It meant pen. Who says frindle means pen? "You do, Nicholas." "It was there at the corner of Spring Street and South Grand Avenue, one block from home on a September afternoon. That's when Nick got the big idea." ----- "Frindle" is the first in a number of school stories ("The Janitor's Boy" and "The Landry News" and "The Report Card" being a few examples) written by Andrew Clements, and it presents the author in tip-top form. There is cleverness springing from almost every page in the story, and the roller-coaster ride doesn't end until the final sentence. But this is not just a one-trick pony. Behind the goofiness of the narrative, there is also a sincerity to the events happening, as well as moral issues at play. For example, not one person in the story is made out to be the villain. All those involved in the wake of this frindle business booming out of control are only trying to do what's best given the situation. That Clements can make his characters real, and that he doesn't stereotype them, deserves distinct credit. Readers will find themselves rooting for everyone in the story, not just Nick and his new word. "Frindle" was lauded by critics and has won many awards, as well. This is one story that you will not regret purchasing. A book such as this doesn't have to be a Newbery Medal Winner to be considered classic children's literature. Andrew Clements' tale will, indeed, stand the test of time. It has universal appeal. And, according to Mrs. Granger, she would agree: "So many things have gone out of date. But after all these years, words are still important. Words are still needed by everyone. Words are used to think with, to write with, to dream with, to hope and pray with." Congratulations, Mr. Clements, on a job well done.