Frindle

Frindle is a 1996 middle grade novel by children’s author Andrew Clements and illustrated by Brian Selznick. The story follows a fifth-grade boy named Nick Allen who—both for fun and to exasperate his strict language arts teacher who has a special reverence for vocabulary—creates a new word for pen: “frindle.” Nick’s new word captures more attention than he expected, and soon the town and nation engage in a controversy surrounding how people ought to use vocabulary. The novel explores themes about differing adult and student perspectives, actions and their consequences, and the power of language. Clements draws inspiration from his experience teaching fourth grade, eighth grade, and high school to develop his themes and characters. Since 1985, Clements has published over 80 books, including Extra Credit and No Talking. Frindle is his first and most critically acclaimed novel, boasting 48 awards and nominations such as the Christopher Award (1997) and the Phoenix Award (2016), which praises books that become more influential over time and affirms its reputation as a modern-day classic. This guide uses the 1999 Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Reprint e-book edition.

Plot Summary

Nicholas “Nick” Allen steps into fifth grade at Lincoln Elementary in Westfield, New Hampshire, with a long-standing reputation for making trouble. He loves turning creative ideas into reality, actualizing his imagination as far as possible until he gets in trouble. He glides though elementary school with relatively little consequences, but when he enters fifth grade, he meets his match: Mrs. Granger, the language arts teacher with a passion for vocabulary, respect for tradition, and a radar for nonsense. On the first day of school, Nick is determined to steer Mrs. Granger off-track, but his plan backfires. He asks her about the history of words—strategically complimenting her massive dictionary at the front of the room—but Mrs. Granger deflects by assigning his question as the topic of a research report. That evening, a frustrated Nick starts writing his report, and he gets an idea. The next day, he delivers a long, thorough report that consumes most of Mrs. Granger’s class period—the ultimate time-waster. After Mrs. Granger finally cuts him off, he asks why people use the words they do. Mrs. Granger replies that everyone that speaks a language affirms their vocabulary by simply speaking to and understanding each other, and then she resolutely finishes the class.

That afternoon, while Nick walks home from school, he picks up a gold pen from the roadside and has a great new idea: Instead of calling the object a pen, he will call it a frindle and convince his classmates to do the same. Like Mrs. Granger said, if everyone uses and understands his new word, then it can be a real word. Nick and his classmates vow to only use the word frindle instead of pen, much to Mrs. Granger’s irritation. The idea starts causing school-wide problems when other grades adopt the word. Mrs. Granger pulls students after school for detention anytime she hears them say frindle rather than pen, much to parents’ frustration. Consequently, the school principal, Mrs. Chatham, visits the Allen home hoping to put an end to Nick’s antics, but to everyone’s surprise, Nick’s mom defends her son’s harmless creativity. Nick realizes that even if he promised to stop using the word, so many other people use it that he couldn’t make it go away if he wanted to.

Judy Morgan, a local newspaper reporter, hears about the drama stirring at Lincoln Elementary and investigates. After talking to Mrs. Chatham, Mrs. Granger, and Nick, she writes a sensational article that engages the whole town in the controversy. Mrs. Chatham is horrified by the contentious publicity, but both Mrs. Granger and Nick stand their ground. Other more influential news agencies discover the story, and before long, frindle becomes a national phenomenon. Back in Westfield, local entrepreneur Bud Lawrence quietly makes a profit by merchandising the word frindle without consulting the Allen family. When his lawyer warns him about a potential lawsuit, Bud involves Nick’s dad. Mr. Allen doesn’t want to deal with merchandising himself, nor does he want his son to lose his fair share of the profit, so he cuts a deal with Bud. The money goes straight into a trust fund for Nick’s college. Nick has no idea that his simple idea will one day leave him a massive inheritance.

Though the frindle phenomenon booms across the country, it becomes commonplace in Westfield, where the excitement subsides. Everyone moves on except Nick, who is now wary of the commotion that his idea caused. He starts repressing his ideas in fear of unexpected consequences, which in turn smothers his vibrant personality. Mrs. Granger notices this change in Nick: He’s quieter and doesn’t joke around with his friends anymore, which she addresses on the last day of fifth grade. She assures Nick that he hasn’t done anything wrong, encouraging him to take risks and continue dreaming up ideas. Her support helps Nick reclaim his confidence, and he pursues new ideas all the way through high school and college.

Ten years later, while Nick is in college, he receives a package from Mrs. Granger with two notes and the latest edition of Webster’s dictionary. One note directs him to a page in the dictionary, where Nick finds the first formal recognition of frindle. The other note congratulates Nick for winning the game; his word has stood the test of time and is now part of the English language. Realizing that Mrs. Granger has supported him all along, Nick—who has gained access to the trust fund arranged by his father and Bud Lawrence—establishes a college scholarship in Mrs. Granger’s name and gifts her a pen with the permission to call it by any name she wants.