1. By: Andrew Clements Published: 1996
Frindle
By: Andrew Clements
Published: 1996

2. Plot Outline
After a lesson on the dictionary in Mrs. Granger’s fifth grade language class, Nick Allen invents a new word for pen.
Nick convinces his friends to call a pen a “frindle”. They make an oath to never use the word pen again, but instead always use frindle.
Mrs. Granger is not happy about the new word, but Nick will not give up trying to make her use the word.
Nick becomes famous from all the frindle-mania. There are television interviews, newspaper articles, and stories.
Years later, Nick receives a gift from Mrs. Granger. In return, he sends her a special thank you gift.

3. Main Characters and Personality Descriptions
Mrs. Granger
A teacher of 45 years, not too tall, wears her white hair in a bun, and has glasses. She always wears either a blue or black uniform skirt, never pants, with a white shirt and cameo pin.
Strict
Hard working
Cares about her students
Nick Allen
A 5th grade boy, red hair, blue eyes, and glasses.
Creative
Smart and clever
Imaginative
Determined
Time-waster (in school)

4. Setting
The main parts of the story take place at Lincoln Elementary School in New Hampshire. The school is located in a small town called Westfield with about 12,000 homes. The town is usually quiet and uneventful until frindle-mania happens.

5. Favorite Part of the Book
My favorite part of the book is when Nick finds the pen and names it frindle. I like this part the best because it is the title of the book, and when I started reading I didn’t know what a frindle was. I wanted to figure out what was going to happen with frindle.

6. Book Review I give this book 4 ½ stars!
I liked this book because it was funny, and it is a type of mystery book. I like mystery books. The argument between Nick and Mrs. Granger was good, and I wondered how it would end up. The end of the book is really good. I liked how Nick and Mrs. Granger made up.

7. New Vocabulary Words Gazette – a newspaper or official journal.
Preliminary – denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important; designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding.
Arbitrary – based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice.
Controversial – marked by or capable of arousing controversy.

8. Other Characters
Janet – Nick’s friend who was with him when he found and named frindle.
Bud Lawrence – owned a lot of things in the town and bought the copyright for frindle. He also gave Nick’s dad $ from the sale of frindle things.
Mrs. Margaret Chatham – the school principal for 18 years, a large woman taller than Nick’s dad.
Judy Morgan – the reporter who wrote a story about frindle in the newspaper

9. Something I learned about
I didn’t know what a copyright was. I also didn’t know what a trust was. I learned that if you have an idea or product you can copyright it and every time some uses it, you can get money for it. I also learned that a trust is a bank account that you put money in and get later.

10. Something I still don’t understand
I wondered what the letter was that Mrs. Granger kept talking about. I was glad that I found out at the end of the book what it was. It was a letter she wrote Nick that said she was glad his word was in the dictionary. What I still don’t understand is why he said she was rooting for frindle. Nick said that when Mrs. Granger was fighting against it, she was actually helping him. I don’t really understand this.