Frindle by Andrew Clements

Last Monday, my literacy facilitator walked into my classroom with a book in her hand and a huge smile on her face. The was Frindle by Andrew Clements. She opened the book to the title page, handed it to me, and said, "This is for you!" I looked down at the page to see that it was a brand new autographed copy! Being a first year teacher that is struggling to make sense of my one Language Arts class, this gift meant so much to me! I read it in one sitting last Wednesday, and I really enjoyed it! This book is silly and funny, but it does have some very good lessons weaved through it. I will definately be recommending this to my students from now on.
This book is about a very imaginative 5th grader named Nick Allen. Nick has always found ways of letting his creativity and imagination get him, along with others, into trouble. Now that Nick is in Mrs. Granger's 5th grade Language Arts class, those days seem to be over.
Mrs. Granger is a no-nonsense type of teacher. She has eyes like a hawk and a quick wit. Mrs. Granger also has a love for words. It is this love of words that gives Nick his best idea ever.
One day, Nick's attempt at distracting Mrs. Granger from the lesson back-fired, and he was required to write an essay about words. While doing his research, Nick came up with the idea to create a new word. To Nick, a pen was no longer a pen...it was a frindle!
Frindle takes off like a race horse with Mrs. Granger right on its hills trying to stop it. Yet, it doesn't take long before the war of the word really kicks in. Is Mrs. Granger able to stop the spread of Nick's new word? Does Nick get in serious trouble? To find out, you must read Frindle by Andrew Clements.