Heidi Hauser Green (Children's Literature)
When Dry Creek Middle School needs a new drinking fountain; school officials contact Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc. to provide one. A seemingly simple business transaction becomes complicated by flawed communication, uptight bureaucracy and a long-unsolved mystery in this hilarious tale! The characters are appealing, both in character in name. Readers will adore the free-spirited artist Florence Waters and the insightful mystery-hounds of Sam N's fifth-grade class, and they will groan over the dastardly under-handed villains Dee Eel and Sally Mander. More experienced readers may find the plot thin, but the real joy of the story is in the Klises' clever blend of text and image. From page one, readers will be captivated by the letters, memos, phone messages, interview transcripts, newspaper clippings, court proceedings and (most of all) the illustrations "collected and organized by Sam N's fifth-grade class." 1998, Avon, $14.00. Ages 9 to 12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1998)
It starts off innocently enough, with principal Walter Russ asking artist Florence Waters to sell him a drinking fountain for the Dry Creek Middle School. But art and bureaucracy are about as different as, well, flood and drought, and this book pits such opposites with hilarious results. Town villains Dee Eel (president of Dry Creek Water Company) and Sally Mander (chief executive of the Dry Creek Swimming Pool) absconded with the town's water supply, turning what used to be Spring Creek into Dry Creek. This all gets uncovered by "Sam N.'s fifth-grade class," who is doing a project on the history of the town. What makes this tale an unequivocal delight is that it's told through letter, memos, newspaper clippings, school announcements, and inventive black-and-white drawings; even less-skilled readers will be drawn in by the element of perusing "other people's mail" to find out why Spring Creek went dry, and to decode the water-related names of the characters. Florence and her intriguing attitude and art win over the class, Sam, and even the stuffy principal--how she does it is part of a tale overflowing with imagination and fun. 1998, Avon, $14.00. Starred Review. © 1998 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 1998)
This novel documents with letters, memos, telegrams, newspaper clippings, etc., a school's efforts to replace its old water fountain. The vendor (Flo Waters) pits the principal (Wally Russ) against his secretary (Goldie Fisch) and sends a teacher (Mr. Sam N.) and his class out to solve a mystery surrounding the drying up of Spring Creek. The hilarious shenanigans are unremitting, and the puns flow faster than the leaks in the old fountain. Category: Fiction. 1998, Avon, 138pp. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.