Module 7: Frindle

Bibliography
Clements, A. (1996). Frindle.
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children.
Summary
Nick Allen is the kind of student that tries to keep his teachers on their toes.  When Mrs. Granger challenges the class at Lincoln Elementary School to always use their dictionaries to look up words they don't know Nick becomes curious about where all the words in the dictionary come from.  What starts as a simple question about whether you can make up a word and assign its meaning becomes a giant problem for Mrs. Granger and a challenge to the town and nation.  Nick tries to win the approval of his peers and others by asking everyone to use the name "frindle" instead of "pen."  This produces both support and disapproval from family and other people in Nick's life.
Review
"Nick's idea to invent a brand new word is both a challenge and a tribute to his dictionary-loving, language-arts teacher. He devises ingenious ways to encourage people to start referring to pens as "frindles." Chaotic events follow as the word becomes a national phenomenon and, finally, an actual dictionary entry. Along with the humor, there are plenty of thought-provoking insights about the nature of words and their importance to the lives of regular people."
Use in Library
As an extension to the book being read in the classroom, this would be a good time to canvas students in library classes about their feelings about Nick's endeavor to change the name of pen to frindle.  Librarian could even hold a mock vote as to whether this could really be done if a student launched such a plan.
Review. (2004, June). [Review of the book Frindle by Andrew Clements]. School Library Journal. Available from: http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=17&sid=70c5da72-abd1-4cfd-a56f-58b3945173c9%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=13409725
Image from: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=NYi&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&tbm=isch&tbnid=68fUiDgvrRGrcM:&imgrefurl=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/439173.Frindle&docid=BWqlGaDVAOQBQM&imgurl=http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327950791l/439173.jpg&w=269&h=400&ei=A7OQT7zRCMry2QWlqun0BA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=713&vpy=297&dur=2572&hovh=274&hovw=184&tx=106&ty=133&sig=105352971646151683921&page=1&tbnh=163&tbnw=110&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0,i:93&biw=1525&bih=714