Tag: Andrew Clements

Book Review: No Talking

From vvmsmedia.edublog.org
From vvmsmedia.edublog.org

posted by Beret

Age Range:  Grades 2 to 7-ish

Last year, Gina introduced me to Andrew Clements with her review of Frindle. I read it to my kids and we were hooked…but unfortunately, we found it hard to find the right follow up from Mr. Clements.

I found Room One and Extra Credit on the library shelves, but for some unknown reason, my girls refused to check them out. We tried Lunch Money, but gave up three or four chapters into it. It was too practical. In fact, it felt as if it were written specifically for teachers to use in math class.

Note: Gina completely disagrees!  Loves this book!  Thinks it’s delightful!

We tackled A Wrinkle in Time and a couple of Jerry Spinelli books instead.

It took months before we were ready to give another Clements book a go. Something about this one caught my eye, however. It has occasional entertaining illustrations. It is smart and funny. The type is generously-sized, and the chapters are short.

AND, IT IS FABULOUS.     Continue reading “Book Review: No Talking”

Book Recommendation: Frindle


posted by Gina

Author: Andrew Clements

Age Range: 5th and 6th Grade
This book is also an excellent choice for your high-level-reading 2nd/3rd Grader (or as a read-aloud for the same) and – dare I say it – can be appreciated and enjoyed well into middle school.  I read this book every time I need to feel really good about the world.

Genre: Realistic Fiction, School Story

Let’s Talk About This, Shall We?

I freaking love words.  During that long-ago year I blundered my way through teaching Kindergarten (we will not speak of this again), my favorite activity was teaching the kiddos a huge, impressive word, then hearing about their parents’ reactions when they used it casually in conversation.  (Nothing more hilarious than a 5 year old saying, “You know, Ms. Gina, I think a jacket would be superfluous today.”)

I keep lists of fun words, favorite words, other people’s favorite words (did you know that all Irish bartenders in New York will claim a swear word as their favorite? And that more people will choose ‘plethora’ than any other word?  It’s true).

This book is about words, a teacher who loves the dictionary, and a kid who wants to know why.  “Why do we call a pen a pen?” he asks, and, upon hearing the intriguing answer that, Latin roots aside, we just collectively agree that “pen” means what it does, decides to test this theory.   Continue reading “Book Recommendation: Frindle”

%d bloggers like this: