Rewind your memory reel to fifth grade and certain fashions and hairstyles may come into focus. But what about the cafeteria? Or the school bus? Or that sports meet? If the word “loud” comes to mind, then know that some things never change.

That’s the appeal of No Talking by Andrew Clements. It takes an ordinary fifth-grade setting and transforms it into a thoughtful, humorous lesson on the power of words.

The Clingers of Cooties
“Dave and Lynsey were the king and queen of the fifth-grade cootie-clingers.” Yes, you read that correctly. This book is about fifth graders (they attend Laketon Elementary School) who haven’t yet outgrown their aversion for the opposite sex. As Andrew Clements so aptly puts it, “A cootie by any other name is still a cootie.”

Because Dave and Lynsey are the unspoken leaders of the “cootie clingers,” the other students follow their lead in a contest like no other. For two whole days, the boys and the girls compete in a war of words.

The Rules of War
There are rules in this war, and the two most important ones are: speak as little as possible, and keep score even when no one is watching (or listening).

The boys and girls don’t expect to agree on anything. After all, Dave is convinced that girls never stop talking. The girls are determined to prove him wrong. But the two sides do come to agree on some issues. For example, they decide that contractions count as one word. Plus, answers of up to three words are allowed in class. Sound easy? Of course not. Interesting? Definitely.

The Sound of Quiet
So how does a quiet fifth-grade classroom sound? “Like debating with condensed haiku,” says Clements, who points out, “It was also sort of like listening to cave people talk, or maybe Tarzan—‘Hungry, eat, now.’” Listen to the oral reports in history class and you’d hear the kids “passing the narration back and forth like a ping-pong ball.”

During the 48-hour war of words contest, the kids faced a host of challenges: an uncooperative principal, music lessons, confrontations with parents, and trips to the barber. Curious if the kids were equal to the task? I have three words for you: read the book.

The Winners and Losers
There were winners in the war of words contest, but they weren’t the cooties. (By the end of the book cooties were “dying all over the place.”) Instead, the winners were the smart kids who learned word conservation. What a timely idea, especially in this, an election year!

Make Reading . . . Not Reading
The Laketon Elementary fifth graders had a nickname; they were known as the unshushables. The description was an apt one, before as well as after the contest.

Not talking was the theme of their contest, and your kids might just want to take a stab at doing the same. But why not be original? How about not reading for 24-48 hours? Sounds easy, but imagine avoiding text messages for that long. Or reading only three words at a time.

Similar rules to those in No Talking could apply. But keep in mind that sometimes the rules aren’t as important as the lessons learned from the contest as a whole.

Lori Williams is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about international adoption and the special needs child. Lori resides in Bethany with her husband Dean and daughter Aurelia.