Nick Allen, the protagonist of Frindle, is well known for his creative ideas. The most notable, of course, is his spontaneous invention of the word frindle, which eventually makes it into the dictionary as a synonym for pen. Nick also turns his third grade classroom into a tropical island (until the principal intervenes), confuses his fourth grade teacher with a high-pitched blackbird noise, and masters the art of asking "thought grenade" questions to distract teachers from their plans to give out homework assignments. When Nick is a little older, he learns that consumers have the power to influence the products that are sold in the free market. He rallies all of the kids in his school district to demand that the cafeterias serve delicious food.