Customer Reviews

Frindle

5 star:		(277)
4 star:		(77)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

As an elementary school librarian, I can say that "Frindle" is one of the finest books for intermediate grades I have read in a long time. I only regret that I didn't read it years ago, so I could've been recommending it to teachers to read-aloud and to students who would like a humorous, yet thought-provoking, story.

Like most successful books for kids, "Frindle" works on many different levels. It's funny, fast-paced, and while the main character, Nick, is kind of a class clown, he has qualities that even a mean teacher like Mrs. Granger would like. And even though Mrs. Granger has a reputation for being strict, she also earns the respect of children and parents. While some situations are a bit far-fetched, this story is still quite realistic. We get a glimpse how a seemingly insignificant event at a small town elementary school through a media-frenzy becomes an international phenomenon. Can anyone say "fad?"

3rd through 6th grade teachers should consider reading this book about the invention of a new word, "frindle," to their classes. Both teachers and students will enjoy it.

At long last! An early reader chapter book designed to give full all-encompassing glory to language itself! Sort of. I first heard about "Frindle" some five years ago when it was burning up the bookshelves across the country. Kids couldn't get enough of the semi-raucous tale of one boy's attempt to make a contribution to the English language. Cleverly, author Andrew Clements has created a book that doesn't fall back into the old good vs. bad/teacher vs. student riff we all know so well. Though a book that is written with fairly young readers in mind, it successfully renders huge themes in bite size portions.

Nick Allen is used to getting great ideas. Who could forget his fabulous third grade attempts to turn his classroom into a sunny tropical isle in the dead of winter? Or his successful utilization of bird calls to annoy a fourth grade prof? But now Nick has come across a real challenge and her name is Granger. Mrs. Granger. As the woman in charge of the elementary school's language arts, Mrs. Granger is a true aficionado of the wonders of the dictionary. After tangling, and losing, with the clever teacher, Nick springs upon a brilliant idea. Why not add his own little word to the world's vocabulary? The idea comes to him in a flash, and before you know it he's grabbed the nearest pen and renamed it "frindle". As Mrs. Granger retaliates, defending (what in her mind is) the perfectly serviceable and already existing word "pen", frindle's popularity and publicity grows and grows. Yet in the end, it seems as though Nick was playing into Mrs. Granger's hands all along.

Accompanied by the really well wrought and beautifully designed illustrations of Brian Selznick, the book is just a low-key amusing look at how words affect people. Clements includes an array of interesting facts and ideas, some of which even adults will find themselves astounded by. For example, the book states that in 1791 a Dublin theater manager made up the word, "quiz" on a bet and that this word was (until the creation of "frindle") the only word in the English language made up for no particular reason. I tried to ascertain if this was true by glancing through my impossibly old Webster's Third New International Dictionary. When I looked up "quiz" I hit the following sentence: Unknown origin. That's proof enough for me, though I'm sure a glance through the OED would clear everything up. And how many books written with middle readers in mind give you such clever facts couched in an interesting story? I was delighted with the characters in this book. From clever Nick and his ideas to Mrs. Granger, an adult who is truly an intelligent match. Any villainy this book presents later turns out to be no more than a clever ruse. So kudos for giving teachers the credit they deserve at last! Kudos indeed.

A good pairing of books of this reading level with similar protagonists would be "Frindle" and the slightly more recent Lois Lowry offering "Gooney Bird Greene". Both books observe the use of language and how it affects us and both have clever red headed protagonists that defy all expectations. I doubt you could find two better books to present to kids with the hopes of getting them involved in reading. I give "Frindle" an especially warm recommendation and I am sure kids will be inspired by it. Go! Read! Enjoy!

Have you ever had a teacher who made life really tough for you? Well, Nick Allen did. When Nick was in 5th grade, he had a teacher named Mrs. Granger and she had a reputation for being tough and mean. When Nick tries to stall class by asking Mrs. Granger where words come from, she makes him answer his own question with an oral report.

Nick learns that we make the words in the dictionary. One day as he's walking home with his friend Janet, Janet drops her pen. Nick picks it up for her and accidentally calls it a "frindle" instead of a pen. He finally understands what Mrs. Granger was trying to teach him. Soon, he convinces his friends to start using the word "frindle" too. Before long, the whole school is saying it.

This makes Mrs. Granger very mad. She creates The Frindle Punishment. Anyone who uses the word must stay after school to write, "I am writing this punishment with a pen." 100 times. The students start taking this punishment as a badge of honor. This is my favorite part because the students are standing up for themselves.

Not everyone is so happy about Mrs. Granger's new punishment. A newspaper reporter named Judy Morgan learns about frindle and comes to the school to find out more. Then things really get crazy!

If you want to know what happens next, you'll have to read the book. I think you should read the book because it's realistic and funny. I like to imagine that something like this could happen to me.

Absolutely Wonderful! This book is engaging for all ages and a must read for every middle-grade class. A heart warming and funny story -- a parent's dream come true. It is about a student named Nick Allen, who decides to create a new word. His Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Granger has a real passion for the english vocabulary and the uses of a dictionary. But after Nick's insistence, his friends and schoolmates begin using his word ... frindle. Much to his teacher's dismay, it becomes so popular that everyone is using it. Many escapades ensue (after-school punishments, principal visits, local and national publicity, local entrepreneurial opportunities and finally, true acceptance of the word and inclusion in the dictionary. In the end, both student and teacher form a strong appreciation for one another and a bond that cannot be broken.

"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.

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"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."

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"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.

I read the book Frindle by Andrew Clements. The main character is Nick. He's an eleven year old by and going into fifth grade. Nick is known to be the class clown and he has a lot of friends. Even though he's the class clown he is still a good guy and he is really nice. This story takes place at Nick's school and house. He makes up a new word "frindle" and uses it instead of the word pen. Then he gets all his friends to use the word. They spread the word around and pretty soon everybody uses it. His teacher thinks it has gone to far and does all she can to stop it. But when Nick gets forced to stop it the whole world is using and there's nothing he can do about it. This book is a fiction book or a normal book. I loved this book especial its humor and I encourage all of you to read it too.

I liked the book Frindle alot! It is a story about a boy named Nick Allen. He is in the 5th grade. Nobody can tell if he is a trouble maker or not . He wanted to make a new word, and also once he turned his classroom into a tropical island. Do you think he is a trouble maker? Do you think he made a new word? Read this book to find out. You will love it!

Frindle

Frindle, the realistic story by Andrew Clements, is about a boy called Nick, who is very intelligent and creative. He is very kind and likes to think of new ideas and do his own things. He is not particularly bad, but somehow he seems to get himself into lots of trouble.
The story is set in New Hampshire in America. It is written in modern times. The title of the book is Frindle and this is the new word Nick has created for a pen. Nick called a pen a frindle because he questioned why a pen was called a pen. Nick has just started fifth grade and his language arts teacher is Ms Granger. Everybody hates her because she is mean and makes all the children look up their mistakes in the dictionary. Ms Granger loves her dictionary and she tries to make the children use it a lot.
One day after school, Nick was walking home with his friend Janet Fisk. Janet saw a pen lying on the ground, she picked it up and it slipped out of her hand again. Nick picked it up and handed it to her and for some strange reason, he said, "Here is your Frindle." As he said this, he had a great idea; he said, "Hey, instead of the word pen, why don't we call it a frindle." The next day Nick was telling everyone about his new word, frindle. Ms Granger got irritated with Nick and told him to stop using the nonsense word. A week later the principal requested to see Nick's parents about Nick and his new word frindle. The principal asked Nick's parents to tell Nick to stop using his made up word.
Unbelievably other strange things happen, with the use of the new word. If you want to hear about the rest of this story read this fabulous and great book Frindle.
I recommend this book, because the characters are believable and funny. It is not like any normal school classroom. Once you start reading the book, you won't want to put it down. The pages will be turned quickly. Nick is half cool and a bit geeky, but you can't help but like him.

I am a fifth grader, SR,from WMA.The book that
I read was Frindle.It's about Nick Allen,a boy who goes to Lincoln Elementary school. He uses his imagination all the time. Nick Allen has the worst teacher in fifth grade, and her name is Mrs.Granger. Mrs.Granger teachers LA, in her classroom she has lots of dictionaries. One day when Nick was going home with his friend he tripped and found an expensive pen. He named his pen Frindle. His friend was confused. The next day he told the 5th grade to ask the teacher for a Frindle. He started a big fuss about it.It was so big that he even got on the newspaper and was interviewed. Mrs.Granger got furious. She kept them in to write a report. Mrs.Granger said, "I will give you an envelope." He stopped and the teacher gave him the envelope. It said . . . I really liked this book. It was exciting, funny and impressive. It's the best book I ever read.

This is a wonderfly thrilling book that puts creativity in a boy or girls mind.It will play a follow the leaders game in thier mind,showing that since the main charactar can change the world so can they. and to top that, put tons of excitement in the

readers mind running like in a marathon, racing, racing, racing.