The Landry News

The Landry News is a children's book by Andrew Clements first published in the United States in 1999 by Aladdin.

Plot summary

Cara Landry, a new student in Mr. Larson's 5th Grade classroom, publishes her own individual newspaper during her first year at Denton Elementary School titled "The Landry News". She writes an editorial about her teacher, Mr. Larson, who had once been a top-quality teacher but had over time become too apathetic to teach. Mr. Larson soon returns to his old teaching ways, when Cara's merciless editorial opens his eyes to that it is true he has stopped teaching. Cara continues an old class newspaper with the novel's title for as far as the teachers are concerned, a "class project". Cara then expands the newspaper with every edition, each even better than the first, with the help of her newly-found friends. One day when the newspaper is at its peak, her friend named Michael, a computer whiz who handles the newspaper layout, comes up to her and asks if she could read a story his "friend" wrote, titled "Lost and Found". When she reads it later that evening, tears form in her eyes, as she realizes it has no name, and it is about a divorce between the author's parents and how he ran away from home, was found, and realized that his parent's divorce had nothing to do with him, and that they love him for who he is. She loves the article mainly because that was exactly how she felt when her parents were divorced. When she shares the story with her mother later that evening, tears form in her eyes as well. At first she thought that Cara wrote it, but after she explains, she discovers the truth. The story is then printed in the paper, only to have a "fed-up Dr. Barnes",who is furious at Mr. Larson for allowing the children to do so. He is keeping an even sharper eye on Mr.Larson because he strongly disapproves of the way he teaches. He also makes a clear point to the media that "This article is too personally revealing for children, nor anyone else."

The newspaper receives publicity because of the First Amendment and how the article had been banned, so Cara is interviewed for TV,and a hearing is planned in the auditorium. When the day of the hearing came, it certainly seemed like Mr. Larson was going to be fired. The only thing that could possibly save his job was the fact that beforehand, Cara had asked Michael if he could read his story out loud in defense of Mr. Larson, as proof that Michael had written the story himself and wanted it to be published. During the hearing, Cara says that if kids are brave enough to say what they feel, then why is it so bad? Afterward, Cara hands out a special edition of the "Landry News", with one article with the headline "Larson is Vindicated!" and a story explaining what had happened at the hearing. The last article of the newspaper is an editorial written by Cara.