Dave Packer's fifth-grade classmates are so boisterous and difficult to quiet down that the teachers have dubbed them "The Unshushables." Dave has just read about Mahatma Gandhi and learned that the man practiced silence one day a week to bring order to his mind. Though Dave likes to talk nonstop, he's determined to give the idea a try. An encounter with Lynsey, another chatterbox, sparks the boys and girls into challenging each other to a no-talking contest for 48 hours. They can answer direct questions from adults with three-word sentences but must otherwise remain silent. The teachers are bewildered at the extreme change in the kids until several of them figure out what's going on. Principal Hiatt demands that the quiet students return to their normal behavior. When the children continue with their silent ways, Dave finds himself at the center of the controversy. This is an interesting and thought-provoking book, similar to Clements's Frindle (S & S, 1996). The plot quickly draws readers in and keeps them turning pages. The author includes the viewpoints of both the students and the teachers, and the black-and-white pencil drawings add immediacy to the story. This lively offering would make a great book-group selection or classroom discussion starter. Ages 9-12. Choose from simplified and traditional characters.
每个人都知道，葛兰洁老师拥有“透视眼”，没人逃得过她的法眼。这还不是最糟的，她对“词典”的狂热简直无人能及。尼克觉得很不可思议，天底下竟有这么无趣的人！
尼克偶然间发现一篇文章，讲到文字的奥秘和来源，他灵光乍现，暗中拟定一个伟大的计划：他要发明一个“新字”。由此引出出乎预料的轰动，给尼克带来引以为傲的经历。
By Andrew Clements, Illustrated by Mark Elliott, Paperback, Simplified or Traditional Chinese characters, 180-244 pages, 8.25"x5.85"
