Frindle

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Title Frindle
Image:FRIND...le-Kitia rules!.jpg
Cover of Frindle
Author Andrew Clements
Illustrator Brian Selznick
Cover artist Brian Selznick
Country United States
Language English
Publisher Aladdin Paperbacks
Released
Media type Paperback
Pages 105
ISBN ISBN 0-689-81876-9

Frindle is a 1996 children's novel written by the American author Andrew Clements and illustrated by Brian Selznick.

Frindle was Clements's first novel, his previous books having all been picture books. It has won many awards, including the Christopher Award, Georgia Children's Book Award, the Sasquatch Children's Book Award, the Massachusetts Children's Book Award, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the Year 2000 Young Hoosier Book Award.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The book tells the story of a fifth-grade boy named Nick Allen. Nick is forced to do a report about how new words are put in the dictionary, but manages to turn the tables on his teacher when, instead of calling a pen a pen, he decides to start calling it a frindle instead. Despite the ardent opposition of his teacher, the name catches on among his classmates, then the whole school, and finally the whole country. Eventually, the word is put in the dictionary, and his English teacher reveals to Nick that she had known all along that frindle would enter the dictionary. She had chosen to act the villain in order to accelerate the process.

Spoilers end here.

Clements described the idea as having come to him in the form of the thought, "What would happen if a kid started using a new word, and other kids really liked it, but his English teacher didn't?"

[edit] The Word

Look up frindle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Frindle (frin'dle) n. a device used to write or make marks with ink. See Pen.

This has been taken from Frindle by Andrew Clements.

[edit] Movie

Frindle is in development as a feature film.

[edit] External links