Regarding “Regarding the Fountain”

Regarding the Fountain, by Kate Klise

Sometimes, you just stumble upon a gem and that was the case this week with the book written by Kate Klise and i llustrated by M. Sarah Klise called Regarding the Fountain. I found it on a shelf in our library, thinking it might be right for one of my students, but during some quiet reading times in class, I opened it up and was hooked.

The subhead gives you a clue as to what is in store: “A Tale in Letters, of Liars and Leaks.” Yes, the book is full of puns, so be warned.

The book tells the story of a town where the main river dried up thirty years prior when a new school was constructed. In the current time, the school water fountain has gone kaput and the principal wants to hire someone to design and install a new water fountain. He gets more than he bargains for when he contacts Florence Waters, who has a spirit and vision all of her own, and she enlists a fifth grade class to help her. Meanwhile, the kids uncover a mystery about what happened to the river.

And the entire novel is told entirely through letters, memos and notes.

I loved how Klise makes you read between so many lines (just when you think the teacher is proposing marriage to Waters, you learn this is not the case at all, and that makes you chuckle at your own assumptions), and infer what is happening that has not been written. She injects so much humor, too (the communications between Waters the designer and the principal are priceless). And she empowers the kids at the school, who write an opera, dress up in elaborate costumes and play with the two pet monkeys she has sent them from Africa. There’s more, but you get the point.

This small book (check out part of it at Google Books) is a great example of non-traditional text and as we think about ways to use digital media to tell stories — through hyperlinks, videos, audio tracks, etc. — it is useful to be reminded that words in a linear sentence is not the only way to tell a story and engage a reader.

It reminds me of a story I once wrote that was told exclusively through the concept of canceled checks. You leave out as much as you put in, hoping that the reader can fill in the gaps of the story.

I see that Klise also has other books like this one out, including Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets and Regarding the Bathrooms: a Privy to the Past.

Don’t you just love coming across a new book series or author? That makes my day. I might need to create a glog about this book for my students.

Peace (in the fountain),
Kevin

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