Summary: This short chapter book is about a troubled boy who loved to stir up trouble. The main character, Nick, is a fifth grade student and decides to introduce a new word in the dictionary. Even though Mrs. Granger is feared among students, Nicholas tries to test her with creativity. Once his new "word" spreads around the school and through the town, Nick begin to have a new outlet of live and popularity.
Summary of Professional Reviews: This book received a starred review on the Kirkus Review. They described this book as "utterly satisfying" and "comically realistic." They also enjoyed Nick's "creativity" and "series of events that rapidly spins out of control." The Horn book online guide gave this intermediate fiction book a rating of 1. They believe this book is "outrageous and hilarious" with the idea of replacing the word "pen" with "frindle."
Review by Madie Henderson: I really enjoyed this book of how a student could test the teacher. Clements really did a great job coming up with an idea to change a simple word into something unforgettable. I also liked how he incorporates a real-life classroom environment and the reactions of the students.
This book would be useful when teaching…Teachers could use this book for to teach creative writing. Students could write how Nicholas' character traits changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Teachers could also use this book by introducing other words in the dictionary in order for students to enrich their vocabulary skills. Another example for this book is for teachers to make up their own word and as a class, they could figure out the meaning or relevance of the word.
Summary of Professional Reviews: This book received a starred review on the Kirkus Review. They described this book as "utterly satisfying" and "comically realistic." They also enjoyed Nick's "creativity" and "series of events that rapidly spins out of control." The Horn book online guide gave this intermediate fiction book a rating of 1. They believe this book is "outrageous and hilarious" with the idea of replacing the word "pen" with "frindle."
Review by Madie Henderson: I really enjoyed this book of how a student could test the teacher. Clements really did a great job coming up with an idea to change a simple word into something unforgettable. I also liked how he incorporates a real-life classroom environment and the reactions of the students.
This book would be useful when teaching…Teachers could use this book for to teach creative writing. Students could write how Nicholas' character traits changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Teachers could also use this book by introducing other words in the dictionary in order for students to enrich their vocabulary skills. Another example for this book is for teachers to make up their own word and as a class, they could figure out the meaning or relevance of the word.