A worthy sequel!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

A worthy up to date sequel to the original Frindle. I like the connection and how it all comes full circle. It's a longer book than the original. I reread the original as a result and was surprised at how short it is especially compared to this one. More set up I guess. I'm glad Clements had it mostly done. It is an excellent farewell to all his readers.

In this book, Andrew Clements created a wonderful epilogue to his original Frindle story, as well as a powerful message for today’s readers and writers. It is heartbreaking that Mr. Clements is not able to continue to write for middle grade students. Of course, his legacy is found in every middle school library.
My only complaint about this book? It was over too soon.

This semi sequel to the classic, Frindle, captures a similar essence of the original. Tech nerd Josh Willett questions the Ludite practices of his sixth grade English teacher, Mr. N.. When Josh discovers some secrets about his teacher, he first uses it against him and, then, does an about face when Josh experiences the unethical practices sometimes at play on the internet. Once again-this time posthumously -Clement tells a school story that highlights the curiosity, creativity, and agency of young people.

I was a little worried about a sequel to Frindle, for several reasons. I really enjoyed Frindle and sequels tend to be not great. It is many years since Frindle came out and it was completely written by Andrew Clements. I can say I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice to see what had become of Nick Allen. I like how the students learned how to be cautious with technology and once again got together for a good cause! I can’t wait to share this book with others!

I loved reading this sequel to Frindle! I hadn't read Frindle in a very long time but I felt like I was right back there reading this sequel, The Frindle Files. Readers should definitely read Frindle first but if they find this book, The Frindle Files first, they will get the gist of what happened in the past. The characters who experienced the first Frindle explain it nicely throughout the story for this new generation of readers.

A must-have for all libraries. If you don't have Frindle, you should probably get it too, readers will want to read the first one too. Oh, and maybe be sure you have enough of Charlette's Web too. It's mentioned in the story quite a bit and readers may want to reread that classic or pick it up for the first time.

@AndrewClements @BrianSelznick #Frindle #FrindleFiles #FrindleSequel #SchoolLibrary #SchoolLibrarians #ReadABook #Books #Read #MGReads MGBooks #MGLit #KidLit #ElementaryBooks #ElemReads

What an awesome swan song and tribute to an author I have come to love! Frindle was my first Andrew Clements book, and I shared it with vigor in my early teaching years. Now I will do the same with this, his final novel.

Josh has discovered something unexpected about his "old school" teacher, Mr. N. He is determined to use the info to win he and his fellow students the use of technology in his class. A teacher vs. student bout ensues, and of course, many lessons are learned.

Fans of Frindle will love it. It can be read without reading Frindle first. It will definitely inspire you to go pick it up (again).

The Frindle Files is an excellent book! Another Andrew Clement book that is bound to be a classic. This realistic fiction book has the right balance of intrigue, humor and everyday life. The story makes the reader ponder about ethics if technology.

Andrew Clements novel, "Frindle", has been a staple in elementary and middle school classrooms for decades. I was excited to find out that a sequel, "The Frindle Files", had been completed using the framework created by Andrew Clements before his death. This novel was clearly a modern and updated version, as it dealt in large part with technology in the classroom, as well as its impact on our daily lives. The story of Josh Willet, sixth grader and techie, is similar to the original "Frindle" as it involves the importance of language, exploration and imagination. As a Language Arts teacher of more than 20 years, I appreciate the grammar references, and the encouragement that Josh's teachers provide as he and his best friend try to solve the mystery of "Frindle" and how it relates to their teacher, Mr. N. I found the conflict resolution to be rather underdeveloped, but still enjoyed the story. Did I love it as much as "Frindle?" No, I didn't. I do, however, think it will resonate with upper elementary and middle-schoolers and will have its place in my classroom library alongside "Frindle."

Three years ago I read Frindle for the first time with my fifth graders. I loved the story and the positive impact teachers can have on their students. When I saw The Frindle Files on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. The story holds up to the original. It has all the amazing writing that Andrew Clements is known for. It has the all the cleverness of the original story. I couldn't help smiling throughout. I can't wait to get this book for my classroom library.

I absolutely loved this sequel to Frindle! Andrew Clements was an amazing author and this final novel is the perfect wrap-up to his career.

There are many similarities between the original novel and the sequel. The small town setting and school setting were similar to the feel of the settings in Frindle. The main characters in this sequel were a boy, a girl who was his best friend, and their teacher. In both books, children are pushing for a change to be made. The two novels meld perfectly together, even though they were set decades apart, both stories with an equally important message to share.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC of #TheFrindleFiles by #AndrewClement in exchange for honest feedback. I will definitely be purchasing a copy of this novel once it is published! -5 stars

This was the perfect sequel to Frindle! From the first few paragraphs- I was hooked. In addition to learning that words are important, we are also reminded of the importance of being an up stander. The relevancy and truth shared in this book really resonates with me as an educator and I can’t wait to share the book with my future students…after reading the original with them of course!

Josh Willet loves technology, prefers doing his schoolwork on the computer, and is a huge fan of The Zen of Python, a coding style manual similar to Strunk and White's Elements of Style. His teacher, Mr. N., does NOT like technology, and uses it rarely in his classroom. Instead, he has a chalkboard, requires students to bring a paper copy of Strunk and White with them every day, and makes them hand in handwritten assignments. When Nick's pen runs out of ink, he has to borrow one from his mother, and notices that it has "Frindle" written on it. She tells him that it was a big fad when she was in middle school, and when Josh does a search for the term, he comes across stories about Nicholas Allen, a boy whose dictionary loving teacher inspired him to make up a new word for pens. Not only that, but Nicholas Allen looks a lot like Mr. N. a.k.a. Allen Nicholas! Could his Hawaiian shirt wearing Luddite of a teacher be the news sensation from the 1990s? To test out his hypothesis, Josh leaves a pen with "Frindle" written on it on the teacher's desk and waits for a reaction. When the next writing assignment deals with whether or not someone should reveal another person's secret, Josh knows he has the right person. To further test, he has all of his classmates use the adjective "frindy", meaning "weird, tacky, strange, or odd" in their writing assignments. Mr. N. plays along, and before he knows it, Josh is pushing the envelope. He has several of his friends bring their laptops to class with copies of a free, online version of the Strunk and White manual. Mr. N. takes away their laptops for the day, which earns him a meeting with the principal. In the end, students are allowed to use the online version, but Mr. N. points out that there are a lot of errors in it. Josh is interested to find out that E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, is the "White" in "Strunk and White". Soon, the class is researching this problem, trying to find out who posted the illegal copy, and using the battle cry "For Wilbur!" Mr. N. assigns the class a letter to send to the poster, asking for the copy to be taken down. It's sent from Mr. N.'s e mail account, which causes the school server almost to crash after a famous writer heralds their cause and classmate Miguel's interview about it goes viral. When the local news covers the class's project, Mr. N.'s secret is revealed. Josh learns more about his teacher's past, and about the value of using technology responsibly as well as grammar and print books, than he ever hoped to find out.
Strengths: I have to admit that I was leery of this title going in; the note reassuring me that Clements had been working on this book before his death was helpful. Since Frindle was published in 1996, this really worked perfectly. Technology has changed so much since then, so of course Josh prefers doing homework on a laptop. Nicholas Allen would be old enough to be a teacher. I adored the story of how he came to be a teacher, and admittedly cried when he shared information about Mrs. Grander and her impact on his life. This took several twists and turns, but was a masterful look at research, coding, and even good writing. I am not a good enough writer to do this final book of Clements' justice. It really is a fitting and excellent Trumpet of the Swan song of his career.
Weaknesses: I wasn't able to go back and read Frindle, but I seem to recall that Nick wasn't as nice as Josh. Somehow, I wanted Josh, or perhaps Mr. N., to be a little snarkier or nastier, if only to see them become nicer during the course of the story. That said, it's much more on trend to have characters be nicer today, and that's much more pleasant to read.
What I really think: This begs to be studied in classes, and I thought long and hard about which book would be best to read first. I think if I were using this as a class novel with 6th graders or upper elementary school students, I would start with The Frindle Files, and then go back and meet Nick in Frindle. This would also be a perfect book for any student-parent book clubs. This will be a hugely popular book, and it has several great messages.

And yes, I could have been teaching Nick in 1996!

When I heard that there was a sequel to "Frindle", my first reaction was, "Oh no!" "I hope they don't mess this up and ruin my memories of the original book!" After Andrew Clement's passing in 2019 a sequel which he had been working on was left unfinished. With the help of editors and his family and friends, "The Frindle Files" was brought to life in true Andrew Clements style. It does not disappoint!

Years after the word "frindle" was coined in a classroom a new young student decides to take on his Language arts teacher in a battle of wills over using a paper copy of, "The Elements of Style" vs. a downloadable version. As the skirmishes unfold, our young student finds out some information about his teacher that his teacher would prefer remain private. Now, what should be done with the information he has so carefully compiled in his "Frindle Files?" The question of what to do with public vs private information is deftly handled and the back-and-forth exchanges between student and teacher are very entertaining. Grab your original copy of "Frindle", re-read it and then move onto the "Frindle Files" for a long-awaited treat!

Frindle has long been one of my favorite books, and the news that Andrew Clements passed away with an unfinished sequel is one of those things that's nagged at me ever since. I was certain the book would never see the light of day. There may have been a couple of tears when I saw this book announced.
I think it is clear that this book was started but not finished by Clements. It is lacking some of the charm of his other school stories (I've read them all, so I'm very familiar) and elements seem like first draft thinking--some of the problems are resolved very quickly, and everyone just seems to agree with the "For Wilbur" without much conflict. Whereas in Frindle, the conflict with authority was the driving force of the story. And unfortunately, Josh is not as endearing as a main character as Nicholas Allen.

All that said, Andrew Clements books are like pizza, even when they're bad, they're still pretty good. And revisiting the world of one of my favorite stories was an absolute pleasure, particularly the nods to some of the original characters. I will definitely be purchasing the book for my school library and my own Andrew Clements collection.

I was so excited to see that a new sequel to Frindle is headed to bookshelves! I read Frindle as a new teacher, and both myself and my students loved it. It led me to read and recommend many more Andrew Clements titles - these have been popular throughout my career! I was right to be excited about this sequel. It definitely has ties to the original, but could also be read and understood all on its own. Josh loves computers and coding, and therefore finds himself butting heads with his 6th grade ELA teacher who won’t even allow the students to get their laptops out in his classroom. When Josh finds himself in possession of a pirated version of The Elements of Style, co-authored by beloved author E.B. White (of Charlotte’s Web fame), he can’t help but speak out. Josh, with the help of his friend Vanessa, start a campaign to get the ebook removed from the Internet altogether. Along the way, he learns unexpected things about his teacher, and his connection to the famous Frindle. Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. This is another classic Andrew Clements tale that will endear children and adults alike!

I loved this story. I loved Frindle and was so excited to see the sequel. It is so fun and a great follow up. There is a good amount of cross over but could be read alone due to the explanations. The topics are relevant and interesting. Another story that shows the difference one can make and the importance of support.