39 pages • 1 hour read
Frindle
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Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Freedom of the Press”
This chapter follows Judy Morgan, a reporter of The Westfield Gazette who doesn’t find many interesting stories. When she hears unusual rumors about Lincoln Elementary, she investigates further. Outside the school’s office, she finds a notice from Mrs. Granger about using the word frindle. She talks to Mrs. Chatham, who shrugs the incident away: “It’s nothing really. Some kids have been playing a prank, and it was time to put a stop to it” (58). Judy doesn’t believe her understatement, and she follows the story to the next lead. Mrs. Granger is proctoring detention when Judy asks to speak with her. Mrs. Granger, sharp and suspicious, gives her side of the story and soon ends the interview.
Judy meets a group of detention students in the parking lot and asks for their perspective. She inquires after the student called Nick, but a red-headed boy says that Nick probably can’t talk because “he might say something stupid and get himself in trouble” (63). The next day, Judy receives an envelope with a picture of the fifth-grade class—each student holds a pen and puckers their lips strangely. The back of the photo directs Judy’s attention to the red-headed boy she spoke to, and she realizes that he is none other than Nick Allen.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Extra! Extra! Read All About It!”
The next edition of The Westfield Gazette’s front page features the frindle story, emphasizing the tension between authorities and students. In a series of finger-pointings, key characters come under fire for the inflammatory press coverage: “What is the meaning of this?!” asks Nick’s mother to Nick, the superintendent to Mrs. Chatham, and Mrs. Chatham to Mrs. Granger (68). Though all three of the lectures’ recipients spoke to the reporter, no one anticipated the kind of publicity this news story would create for Lincoln Elementary and Westfield.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Airwaves”
Nick has always received attention for his ideas, but his new notoriety now reaches unprecedented heights. In a nearby town called Carrington, a TV news reporter named Alice Lunderson hears Nick’s story and begins pursuing leads. Her station reaches out to Boston, who confers with New York—all of whom love the story. Alice, with full network support, interviews Mrs. Granger, and then Nick and his parents.
Mrs. Allen reminds Nick that though a TV interview is exciting, he must remember that his words impact the people he interacts with every day, “So mind your Ps and Qs” (74). Mrs. Allen lays her foot on top of Nick’s, and anytime she presses down, Nick knows to let his mom answer the reporter’s question. The interview is endearing, but Alice knows she won’t prompt any controversial opinions from the Allen family. The two-minute news story features on CBS, which reaches 20 million people—many of whom adopt Nick’s new word.
Before frindle became national news, Bud Lawrence, a lifelong Westfield resident with an entrepreneurial spirit, files for a trademark on Nick’s word and establishes a small company selling pens with “frindle” printed on them. However, with Nick’s widespread publicity, Bud’s lawyer encourages him to negotiate an official contract with the Allen family to avoid a lawsuit. Bud reaches out to his old friend Mr. Allen and takes advantage of his low-fuss tendencies to persuade him to sign over the frindle trademark in exchange for a fraction of the profits. Mr. Allen agrees, but he wants to keep the deal quiet; they arrange for the Nick’s share to go directly into a trust fund.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
Chapters 10-12 abandon Nick’s point of view entirely, pivoting to the adults’ perspective, where they are characterized in a new light. For example, the students know Mrs. Chatham runs the school authoritatively; however, under other adults’ critique (including Mr. and Mrs. Allen during the home visit), she betrays her uneasiness. The narrator notes that when the reporter questions her, “Mrs. Chatham looked like…well, like a kid who had been sent to the principal’s office” (60). The situation creates a role reversal for Mrs. Chatham, making her feel reprimanded like one of her students. This perspective shift explores the adults’ response when traditional order and authority are insufficient to quiet the students’ anarchic imagination.
After reporter Judy Morgan publishes Nick’s story, readers observe the unintended consequences of Nick’s actions unfold plainly in three parallel paragraphs, each of which begins with a short line of dialogue: “What is the meaning of this?!” (68). The first paragraph describes an expected confrontation, in which Mrs. Allen scolds her son for talking to the reporter. The second paragraph reveals an unexpected consequence when the school superintendent confronts Mrs. Chatham about the unwanted publicity. Finally, the third paragraph shows another unexpected consequence through a meeting between Mrs. Chatham and Mrs. Granger, in which the panicked principal asserts that their jobs could be on the line if they don’t suppress the frindle episode quickly. Nick never meant to cause real harm by talking to the reporter, but this parallel pattern of confrontations demonstrates how quickly the aftermath spirals out of control.
During a TV interview, Nick says, “The funny thing is, even though I invented it, it’s not my word anymore. Frindle belongs to everyone now” (76). Ironically, the following scene juxtaposes Nick’s inspiring statement. With Nick’s newfound publicity, Bud Lawrence—who started selling frindle merchandise before the trademark became officially his own—realizes that the whole world now knows that the word frindle “belongs” to Nick. Bud and Mr. Allen arrange for Nick to receive a share of the profits, but Mr. Allen doesn’t want Nick to know about it until he is old enough. Consequently, Nick continues truly believing that the word is no longer his (acknowledging the power of language to spread and evolve), but he will only realize much later that the imagination and ingenuity that conceived the word frindle belong solely to him.
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