Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, in Letters, of Liars and Leaks (Regarding the...(Hardcover)) - Hardcover

Klise, Kate

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0380975386 ISBN 13: 9780380975389

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

The Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so principal Walter Russ dashes off a request to Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc. asking

"...We need a new drinking fountain. Please send catalog. "

Florence Waters responds:

"I'd be delighted. . . But please understand that all of my fountains are custom-made."

And so begins the hilarious chronicle, in letters, cards, transcripts, and official town documents, as collected by Mr. Sam N.'s fifth-grade class...

Flo Waters, an artist who looks everywhere for inspiration, solicits suggestions from the fifth graders-- ...a fountain big enough to splash around in; ...a glass-sided fountain with fish; . . . buttons for dispensing lemonade and root beer; and from Mr. Sam N.-- ...a hot tub and whirlpool for the teachers.

Flo is thrilled. Mr. Russ is beside himself-- . . ."We don't need a fountain like you create for palaces and hotels. Send bid as soon as possible, or sooner. "

But it's too late. The fountain project has taken on a life of its own. Flo is supplying designs from all over the world. The school board president is up in arms. So is her friend, Dee Eel, of the water-supply company. A scandal is brewing, and the fifth-grade class is researching Dry Creek's history. Something very fishy is going on...and the secrets are buried beneath the fountain and within this delightful, thoroughly original novel.

About this title

Review:

How could a simple request for a new water fountain go so very, very off-track? When Principal Wally Russ writes to fountain designer Florence Waters to ask her to replace Dry Creek Middle School's busted drinking fountain, he little suspects that he is sparking the imagination of an artiste. Kate Klise's charming mystery novel is told entirely in letters and faxes, as the glamorous Florence visits Dry Creek and becomes friends with Mr. Sam N.'s fifth-grade class. The class helps Florence design the most outrageous water fountain ever, and along the way uncovers the dirty (and rather wet) secret that dwells underneath Dry Creek Middle School. Writes Florence to her new fifth-grade friends, "Your drawings are hanging in my studio. Pure inspiration. Of course a drinking fountain should have tropical fish and chocolate shakes!" The book reads like an inspired combination of the epistolary novels Daddy-Long-Legs and Griffin & Sabine. Line drawings by M. Sarah Klise adorn every page, with "snapshots" of the fifth-grade class, pages from the local paper, and coffee-stained While You Were Out notices thickening the stew. The emphasis on visual elements should make the book a hit with kids who claim they don't like to read. Author Klise knows her audience: bad puns flow as freely as water and the plot is just convoluted enough to challenge kids without frustrating them. The Klise sisters have created a classic of comic children's literature. (Ages 8 and older) --Claire Dederer

From the Back Cover:

The Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so principal Walter Russ dashes off a request to Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc.

... We need a new drinking fountain. Please send catalog.

Designer Flo Waters responds:

"I'd be delighted ... but please understand that all of my fountains are custom-made."

Soon the fountain project takes on a life of its own, one chronicled in letters, postcards, memos, transcripts, and official documents. The school board president is up in arms. So is Dee Eel, of the water-supply company. A scandal is brewing, and Mr.Sam N.'s fifth-grade class is turning up a host of hilarious secrets buried deep beneath the fountain.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0380975386
• ISBN 13: 9780380975389
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Klise M. Sarah