Genre/Subject: SchoolAges: 9 and up
Plot: A small boy named Nick Allen is in fifth grade. He is a troublemaker in most of his classes. All but, Ms. Granger's class. Ms. Granger is feared by most students, and her love of dictionaries causes extra homework to take place, which the students dread. Every student must find the definition to a word that Ms. Granger puts on the chalkboard. One day, Nick asks a question about dictionaries, to which instead of answering his question, Ms. Granger assigns extra homework for Nick to find the answer to his own question. On the day of the report, Nick wastes class time by taking extra long time reading his report. When Nick gets interested in defining other words. When Nick returns a pen to Janet, he says "Here's your Frindle". This is when he gets a big idea, to test out vocabulary words on adults. As part of his team, his classmates John,m Pete, Dave, Chris, Janet, and Nick all act as secret agents. They all swore to never use the term "pen" again. Instead they would use the term "Frindle" and make everyone around them begin to call the pen "Frindle". This is when the word wars begin. This new word that Nick invented begins to annoy Ms. Granger, as they become evenly matched in a war of vocabulary 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). Nick's word prank gets out of control, and the entire town catches on and begins to use the word.
Review:
This funny story is a perfect read for a fifth grader who may experience a troublesome teacher in middle school. The story's pacing is perfect. The story is engaging, with each chapter being a page-turner. The chapters are kept short, and the illustrations help describe the characteristics of the characters. Children will want to finish this book quickly, to see how it ends. The story includes a great family structure. Although Nick, is a creative troublemaker, he has supportive parents. This is a story about empowering children. The story includes plotting by middle school children against adults, but also the exploration of language in a creative way. Nick is taking a stand for what he believes in, by taking learning to the extreme, but in the process he is learning--as well as the entire town.
Awards: Christopher Award
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