Do You Have a Frindle?

Nick Allen is the type of kid that other kids want in their class. He is clever and can always find a way to get a teacher off task in order to get the fun started in the classroom. Now Nick is in fifth grade and he may have met his match with Mrs. Granger. Not only is she the oldest teacher in the school, but she loves the dictionary and requires every student to buy one as one of their school supplies. Of course, Nick does what he normally does and tries to get the teacher off track by asking about where words come from. Unfortunately, his plan backfires and his teacher ends up giving him more homework so that he can answer his own question. It is the extra assignment that really gets Nick’s imagination going. He decides that he is going to use his dictionary assignment to get under his teacher’s skin. Nick and his friends make a plan that from now on they will call a pen a frindle. They set the plan in motion and it isn’t long before Mrs. Grange forbids the word frindle from being used in her classroom. Nick and his friends refuse to back down and everything starts going out of control. Will Mrs. Granger be able to stop the kids in her class from calling a pen a frindle? What would you do if your teacher forbade you from saying something? How would your parents react? You must read this book to see what happens to Nick, Mrs. Granger, and the word frindle!


Frindle by Andrew Clements is a fast moving book that you can read in a day. I loved this book and even laughed out loud at some of Nick’s antics. He would be a blast to have in class, but I am not sure that all the teachers out there would enjoy it in quite the same way. Although Nick likes to get into a little trouble, he really just likes to have a good time. I thought he was easy to relate to as the book progressed because he is smart and has some very imaginative ideas.  Frindle is a book that can be enjoyed by boys and girls from third grade through sixth grade. I think older kids and adults may find this book to be entertaining, especially if they like the English language and vocabulary words (I know it a book that Mr. Morrow will have a field day with when I pass it on to him). I am amazed at how the author created such a unique term! I liked that the book was full of surprises all the way up until the end. The drawings that were included throughout the book also helped to make the story come to life and I had a great time examining them. Pick up this book and you will not be disappointed!

Has anyone else read Frindle?  Or another book by Andrew Clements? What did you think?

Happy reading-
~L  FEAR NOT THE UNEXPECTED