I read Frindle quite a long time ago, and it’s EXACTLY my kind of book. I didn’t end up reviewing it on my blog because I kept waiting for a time when I felt I could read it with my book club. I almost selected it once, but one of my regular book clubbers was reading it at school, so we read About Average instead. Now that he’s too old to be part of this book club, I quickly picked it up again!
Nick Allen isn’t really a troublemaker. He just likes to have fun. And where’s the harm in making up a new word?
Pen. Quite a boring, mundane word. Why not call it a frindle instead?
And that’s the premise of this delightful, fun story that keeps you reading page after page. I love how the book is plotted as well as how the characters develop as the story proceeds. Finally, a book about words is perfect for a book club!
The Question
As so many children have just come back after their summer holidays, chapter three is perfect! Following Nick Allen’s school system, we’ll talk about our summer, do a quick vocabulary quiz, and then come to the most fun thing of all – the time-wasting question. I know that this part will make the children giggle, and I can’t wait to see what mischievous, fun ideas they come up with when we discuss what they do to postpone a lesson just a little bit!
Making Up Words
When we read Paati Goes Viral, we spoke about how words are created, and how their meaning changes. We then made up words of our own, which we promised to use right through that edition of my reading programme. I remember at least three words the children created – sclem (which was to substitute ma’am), electric (to use instead of viral) and trook (for book). It was such fun!
With Frindle, I look forward to doing something similar. We’ll create new words and see how successful we are in making them common parlance.
A Letter from Ten Years Ago
No spoilers here, but Mrs. Granger writes a letter to Nick and sends it to him ten years later. He knows it’s the same letter because he wrote his name on the envelope. The letter itself turns out to be the most brilliant surprise ever.
We’re going to work with this idea in two phases. Phase 1 is where the children will make a little time capsule for themselves. Time capsules get lost, though. So, I’m also going to ask them to write notes to one another, which they will send to me privately in the chat box. Ten years later, if I can get in touch with them again, I will send them their letters. They’ll be adults by then!
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