TITLE: No TalkingAUTHOR: Andrew Clements
STARTED: May 26, 2009
FINISHED: May 27, 2009
PAGES: 146
GENRE: Juvenile
FIRST SENTENCE: Dave Packer was in the middle of his fourth hour of not talking.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] The fifth-grade girls and the fifth-grade boys at Laketon Elementary don't get along very well. But the real problem is that these kids are loud and disorderly. That's why the principal uses her red plastic bullhorn. A lot.
Then one day Dave Packer, a certified loudmouth, bumps into an idea -- a big one that makes him try to keep quiet for a whole day. But what does Dave hear during lunch? A girl, Lynsey Burgess, jabbering away. So Dave breaks his silence and lobs an insult. And those words spark a contest: Which team can say the fewest words during two whole days? And it's the boys against the girls.
How do the teachers react to the silence? What happens when the principal feels she's losing control? And will Dave and Lynsey plunge the whole school into chaos?
This funny and surprising book is about language and thought, about words unspoken, words spoken in anger, and especially about the power of words spoken in kindness...with or without a bullhorn. It's Andrew Clements at his best -- thought-provoking, true-to-life, and very entertaining.
THOUGHTS: An anthropological study about vocal and body language in a book that tells kids to shut up and listen? Who woulda thunk it would work. It did. Well done, Mr. Clements. There was nothing earth shattering about this book, but it was a fun read.RATING: 6/10 [Good]
Comments