Books

Regarding the Fountain (Regarding the...)

Average customer rating:

Terrific Summer Reading - especially for kids
Engaging! Entertaining! Enjoyable!
Regarding the Fountain
A great book
Regarding the Fountain

Regarding the Fountain (Regarding the...)
Kate Klise
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Regarding the Sink: Where, Oh Where, Did Waters Go? (Regarding the . . .)
Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets (Regarding the . . .)
Letters from Camp
Regarding the Bathrooms: A Privy to the Past (Regarding the . . .)
Trial by Journal

ASIN: 0380793474

Amazon.com

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

Book Description

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 a 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.

Customer Reviews:

Terrific Summer Reading - especially for kids.......2007-05-20

"Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, in Letters, of Liars and Leaks" (ages 8 and up) is a very silly & wonderful book, filled with puns from the first page till the last.
Dry Creek Middle School needs a new fountain, and who better to build it than Florence Waters, a world traveler who tells it like it is (to the stuffy principal Walter Russ she writes, " ... my goodness, you sound just like the author of the little book of directions that came with my blender.")
Florence keeps the school year exciting through her correspondence with fifth-grade teacher Mr. Sam N. and his students, including Tad Poll, Minnie O., Shelly, Gil, Lily and Paddy.
The students uncover a nasty scheme orchestrated and perpetuated by the school board president, Ms. Sally Mander, and her co-conspirator, a Mr. Dee Eel.
Not only does the school end up with a world-class fountain, but Dry Creek returns to its aquatic splendor and is aptly renamed Geyser Creek."
-- Excerpted with permission from a published review, in Palo Alto (CA) Weekly by columnist Debbie Duncan.

Engaging! Entertaining! Enjoyable! .......2007-05-08

I picked up this book from the desk of one of my students and was immediately intrigued by the format. When she finished with it, I checked it out from our school library and read it in two days--and then only because I had a few other things to accomplish. This book was a real page-turner, and it was fun to see what each page would bring. REGARDING THE FOUNTAIN was great fun!

I am online to purchase my own copy. Okay, maybe this book isn't meant for adults, but adults can still have fun, yes? If you're an adult, give this a try. Or at least buy a copy for one of the kids in your life! I think the Klise sisters are creative geniuses!

Regarding the Fountain.......2006-11-30

Have you ever curled up with a book and hot chocoate? Regarding the Fountain is a hilarious book that you can embrace with an intriguing plot twist and creative plot approach by Kate Klise. This book tells the story of county called 'Dry Creek' that has no spring water (told in letters, notes, and transcripts). The problem is Dry Creek Middle School needs a new fountain becaue the old one sprung a leak. Principal Walter Russ sends a request to a lady named Florence Waters to build a fountain.
Extravagant and bouncy as she is, she takes all school year to get items for the fountain, while mailing items to a fifth grade class. Meanwhile Sally Mander and Derbert Dee Eel are hiding a secret. Sally doesn't want to establish a new fountain there. She is also president of the school board and votes against it till the fifth grade clas is forced to return the gifts. In the last three months of school, one kid is searching for a tape recorder that Florence Waters sent, because needed to give it back, and they hear Sally and Dee's secret.
This suspenseful, cleverly written story is a tale of letters, liars, and leaks. witha fountain to splash in, scuba dive in and ice skate. I'd rate it 5 stars because, regarding the fountain, you'll jump right in!

A great book.......2006-06-24

This book uses letters and memos to weave together a charming and catching story, which follows the mystery of why the fictional town of Dry Creek lost its water supply 30 years ago. The book will keep your attention and the main character, Florance, shows through example the theme of not being selfish and of caring about more important things than rules and "the usual" way of doing things. A very pleasant story great for both kids and adults.

Regarding the Fountain.......2005-07-06

This is about a man and woman that built a dam between the fountain and the sprinng. The fountain was leaking so the hired Florence. The students don't have water to drink so Dee Eel and Sally Mander could have a pool to themselves.
I think you should read this book.
I recommend this book to grade 2nd and up.
By,
Jose R.

Regarding the Fountain: A Tale of Letters, of Liars and Leaks.(Children's Review)(Brief Article): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine

Average customer rating:

Regarding the Fountain: A Tale of Letters, of Liars and Leaks.(Children's Review)(Brief Article): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine
Nancy Vasilakis
Manufacturer: Horn Book, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Horn Book, Inc. on May 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1653 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Regarding the Fountain: A Tale of Letters, of Liars and Leaks.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Nancy Vasilakis
Publication: The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 1998
Publisher: Horn Book, Inc.
Volume: v74 Issue: n3 Page: p345(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Children's Review, Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Books:

Books