No Talking by Andrew Clements

When 5th Grader Dave Packer learns about Mahatma Gandi while preparing a Social Studies Report on India, he is inspired to stop talking for a day. That leads to a confrontation with Lynsey Burgess in the cafeteria. By the end of lunch, the two have agreed to a contest--boys against girls, to see who can talk the least for two days. Suddenly things get very different at school and the perplexed teachers and principal have to try to figure out what’s going on. Fun, thought provoking, and lively, the contest takes some surprising twists and turns. The audio version, narrated by Keith Nobbs, had me smiling, laughing out loud and nodding in recognition at his description of elementary school life. (No Talking by Andrew Clements. Simon and Schuster Audio, 2007.)