Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
The fifth grade class at Laketon Elementary School is known as the Unshushables. These 125 students have been together since kindergarten and they have gotten louder each year. All that changes when Dave Packer begins his research on India and discovers that Gandhi vowed to stay silent one day a week. Dave was so intrigued by that idea that he decides to try it--with amazing results. The boys and the girls in the fifth grade had always talked a lot, but seldom to each other. Dave challenges the girls to a contest. No talking for forty-eight hours. All of the fifth graders agreed to participate. In deference to teachers, they agree that responses of no more than three words at a time would be permitted. The conversational tone of the narrative pulls the reader into the dilemmas faced by the students as they carefully count their words. The teachers and the principal are baffled by the silence and try to get the students to talk more, but the contest continues for the allotted time. A good read-aloud choice offering an intriguing demonstration of the power of language and the value of words. Teachers could challenge students to give oral reports or write essays composed entirely of sentences with three or fewer words. 2007, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $15.99. Ages 7 to 10.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008)
The fifth graders at Laketon Elementary School have taken a vow of silence. It started as an experiment for Dave Packer, who was inspired by Ghandi to go a day without speaking. But when Dave explodes at classmate Lynsey Burgess during lunch period, his personal challenge becomes an all-out competition between the boys and the girl: no talking for forty-eight hours. The two sides agree on some carefully considered rules: at home and at school, they will respond to any question from an adult, but their answers must be three words or less. It may seem a teacher’s dream to have a class of silent and attentive students, especially these students, who are known as the “unshushables.” But the teachers and principal aren’t sure what to make of the strange turn of events. Gradually they figure out what’s going on, and their responses range from annoyed to intrigued to ecstatic. It is the responses of adults as much as the actions of the kids that turns the very funny premise of Andrew Clements’ novel into a story that is thought-provoking, too. When the principal challenges the students on their right to remain silent, it brings an unspoken but heartfelt truce to the battle of the sexes. Clements story makes a terrific classroom read-aloud—one that just might inspire the sound of silence. CCBC Category: Fiction for Children. 2007, Simon & Schuster, 146 pages, $15.99. Ages 8-11.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 11))
A vintage tale from the master of the theme-driven, feel-good school story. Having learned during the preparation of a class report that Mahatma Gandhi habitually spent one day a week not talking, Dave decides to try that out—but in the wake of a lunchroom shouting match with fellow fifth-grader Lynsey, the solo effort escalates into a two-day zipped-lip contest between the whole grade's infamously noisy boys and girls. As usual, Clements works out the rules and complications in logical ways (three-word replies to direct questions from adults are OK, for instance, which makes for some comical dialogue), casts no sociopaths among his crew of likable, well-intentioned young folk to spoil the experience and makes his points in engagingly indirect ways. The experiment soon takes on profound implications, too, as the collective action turns into civil disobedience when the autocratic principal decides to put a stop to it. By the end, the two camps have become more allies than rivals, and Dave has seen himself and those around him taking strides toward becoming more thoughtful, compassionate people. A strong addition to the "waging peace" genre. 2007, Simon & Schuster, 160p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 11. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Hope Morrison (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, October 2007 (Vol. 61, No. 2))
After reading about Gandhi for his report on India, loudmouth Dave Packer is intrigued by the idea of bringing order to his mind with avoidance of speech. What begins as a personal experiment evolves rapidly into a fifth-grade-wide competition between the boys and girls to see which group will be more successful in maintaining silence. While Dave heads up the boys’ team, gabby Lynsey heads up the girls, and the rivalry between the two team captains adds further interest to the tale. Schoolwide phenomena are right up Clements’ alley, and this treatment is particularly clever and widely appealing in presenting so many different points of view on the social experiment at hand: Dave and Lynsey, while sworn enemies, are portrayed more thoughtfully as “two smart kids enjoying an idea”; Mrs. Hiatt, the principal, responds to the silence with a panicked sense that she has lost control despite the fact that she is getting exactly what she so often had longed for; Mr. Burton, the language arts teacher, revels in the implications of the contest and turns his classroom into a language lab where he sets up various experiments to test the kids’ responses. The narrative moves along quickly, with flashes backward and forwards providing necessary context for situations as they arise. This is a smart novel that playfully explores an original and unusual topic: the way language, communication, and silence all function for and against community Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Simon, 146p., $15.99. Grades 3-5.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
After several exchanges about who talks more, girls or boys, fifth-graders Dave and Lynsey come up with a contest to see who can talk the least for three days. Clements's point that "less talking allows more time for real thinking" is less than subtly conveyed. Still, the peek-into-the-teachers'-lounge element will appeal to middle-grade readers. Nicely textured sketchlike illustrations effectively capture moments in the text. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, Simon, 146pp, 15.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.