The Landry News

The Landry News is a young adult novel by Andrew Clements, published in 1998.  It centers on a school newspaper and the lives it touches, the lessons it teaches, and the power it gives people to stand up for their beliefs. The book received the William Allen White Children's Book Award in 2002 and has been translated into five languages. American author Andrew Clements (1949-2019) penned many books for young readers, including his most famous work, Frindle (1996), and the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series. Clements taught writing workshops for high school students while attending Northwestern University, which gave him insight into the lives of young adults and how to write for them. He later earned a master’s degree in teaching at National Louis University and taught English Literature for several years. Following this, he took a job in publishing, which led to the publication of Frindle and his transition to becoming a full-time writer.

This guide uses the 2000 Simon & Schuster paperback edition. Citations refer to page numbers in this edition.

Plot Summary

The Landry News follows a fifth-grade girl Cara Landry and her last-period teacher Mr. Larson as they develop and produce a school newspaper, The Landry News. After Cara’s father left the family home the year before, Cara began writing The Landry News at her old school to take back some control over her life. Rather than strictly news, the articles Cara included were biting and hurtful, which led to her switching schools in the middle of the year. Now in fifth grade, Cara has felt invisible since starting at her new school, so she resumes production of The Landry News, The first issue contains an editorial about how Mr. Larson doesn’t teach properly, which receives a mixed reception.

Mr. Larson is initially infuriated by the editorial because he feels attacked for being burned out at his job after years of trying to do right by his students. Rather than stay angry, though, he recognizes that The Landry News might be a new opportunity for him to teach, and in the following class, he gives an assignment for the first time in years, watching with growing satisfaction as his students familiarize themselves with professional newspapers and the stories they contain. Cara is relieved that her newspaper didn’t trigger a repeat of what happened at her previous school and resolves to be less biting, realizing that a newspaper doesn’t have to be mean to report the facts. Much to her surprise, Mr. Larson’s assignment has gotten some of her classmates interested in the newspaper-making process; with some help from a few other students, the second edition of The Landry News is produced on a computer and widely distributed throughout the school.

Meanwhile, Dr. Barnes, the principal, looks for a reason to fire Mr. Larson for being bad at his job, something that he has been unable to do so far. Dr. Barnes believes The Landry News is the opportunity he’s been seeking. He calls the teacher to his office and tries to make him give up control over the newspaper. Mr. Larson refuses, taking full responsibility for anything the paper writes. Dr. Barnes files this information and hopes that the newspaper to make a mistake that will let him fire Mr. Larson.

Several weeks later, The Landry News has grown into a multi-page production with many columns, articles, and fun extras. When a student approaches Cara to include a story they have written about dealing with their parents’ divorce, Cara is conflicted. On the one hand, reading the story helped her, and she believes it could help others, too. On the other, the story feels too personal to publish. Ultimately deciding that the student wouldn’t have asked if they didn’t want it shared, she publishes the story anonymously. After reading the story, Dr. Barnes decides it is the mistake he was looking for to attack Mr. Larson, and he brings it to the school board, which calls a hearing to discuss whether Mr. Larson is responsible for letting the paper publish inappropriate content.

At first, Mr. Larson feels demoralized, but he quickly realizes there is a lesson about freedom of speech and the press to teach here. He opens a discussion with his students about the moral and legal obligations of a newspaper; the students’ response shows that they believe in their teacher and their newspaper. At the hearing, Mr. Larson asks the story’s author to read it before all those gathered. Hearing the story straight from the child who wrote it makes the audience and board realize there is nothing inappropriate about sharing an experience that children often deal with. Mr. Larson ends the book with his love for teaching rekindled, and Cara realizes how much good she can do with her words.