When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

What Dry Creek Middle School needs is a plain, functional drinking fountain to replace its leaking old one. What it gets is Florence Waters, impresario fountain designer who has in mind something with exotic birds, an ice skating rink, geysers and chocolate milk dispensers. This rollicking story, told entirely through letters, memos, newspaper articles and transcripts, escalates into a hullabaloo involving a fifth-grade class, an evil school board member, a sinister water company executive and an increasingly bewildered principal who fruitlessly attempts to scale back Florence Waters's grandiose plans ("Do you all have scuba gear? What about ice skates?... Also, I'm sending a parcel containing cyperus papyrus. This is the famous Egyptian paper plant," Waters jots in one postcard). The artist's somewhat primitive illustrations add to the scrapbook effect of this novel, but in the final illustration not enough is made of the eccentric new fountain to satisfy the anticipation brewing for the previous 100-plus pages. Still, it's a good-natured story with an irrepressible main character who won't take no for an answer. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 4-6--A mystery with an unconventional, yet fun and effective approach. Through a series of graphically designed letters, newspaper articles, telephone and interview transcripts, postcards, faxes, memos, school assignments, and other types of communicative devices, a mystery is solved in a suspenseful, amusing conclusion. Dry Creek Middle School is in need of a new drinking fountain. The principal sends a letter of inquiry to the owner of Flowing Waters Fountains for an estimate on the installation of a new one. To his frustration and the enjoyment of the students, Florence Waters is no ordinary fountain contractor, but an artistic designer, ready to create a unique piece of sculpture that will also pump water. As the correspondence continues among the characters, various clues are left in the communications. In addition, a subplot involves a fifth-grade class's research for a town history project that ultimately reveals the villains and main deception in the plot. In addition to the planted clues, there are lots of puns and quirky sayings throughout. All works out in the end as the author cleverly establishes character traits and motive. Even if readers guess what's going on halfway through, it is still fun to continue reading the diverse pages, all in different fonts with eclectic drawings just to see how the mystery will be revealed and solved. Fresh, funny, and a delight to read.Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 4-6. The school in Dry Creek needs a new drinking fountain, but a simple request for a catalog turns the town upside down when the Auntie Mame of fountain designers, Florence Waters, begins corresponding with the fifth-grade class. The humor is right on target, and the entire story is told through letters, memos, newspaper articles, and other narrative devices. There are also a number of faxes exchanged between the nefarious Sally Mander and Dee Eel, who mysteriously want to prevent the old, leaky fountain from being removed. It's a trifle gimmicky, but Kate Klise and her sister, M. Sarah Klise, who contributed the artwork, carry it off extraordinarily well, and the lively presentation, with copious drawings, sketches, postcards, and handwritten notes, will keep even reluctant readers turning the pages to reach the satisfying conclusion. (Reviewed August 1998)0380975386Susan Dove Lempke From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.