Frindle

Nicholas Allenhas plenty of ideas. Who can forget the time he turned his third-grade classroom into a tropical island, or the times he fooled his teacher by chirping like a blackbird? But now Nick's in fifth grade, and it looks like his days as a troublemaker are over. Everyone knows that Mrs. Granger, the language arts teacher, has X-ray vision, and nobody gets away with anything in her classroom. To make matters worse, she's also a fanatic about the dictionary, which is hopelessly boring to Nick. But when Nick learns an interesting tidbit about words and where they come from, it inspires his greatest plan yet: to invent a new word. From now on, a pen is no longer a pen -- it's afrindle.It doesn't take long forfrindleto take root, and soon the excitement spreads well beyond his school and town. His parents and Mrs. Granger would like Nick to put an end to all this nonsense. Butfrindledoesn't belong to Nick anymore. All he can do now is sit back and watch what happens.This quirky, imaginative tale about creative thought and the power of words will have readers inventing their own words. Brian Selznick's black-and-white illustrations enhance the humor in this unforgettable story.

Andrew Clements is the author of several picture books, including Billy and the Bad Teacher and Big Al. He taught in the public schools near Chicago for seven years before moving East to begin a career in publishing. The idea for Frindle grew out of a talk he gave about writing to a group of second graders. He says this about his book: "Frindle is...about discovering the true nature of words, language, thought, community, learning. It's also about great teaching and great teachers, and about the life that surges through corridors and classrooms every school day." Mr. Clements lives in Westborough, Massachusetts, with his wife and their four children.