A "9"!

At the Middletown Public Library's Youth Reading Across RI book club, Regarding the Fountain was rated a "9" for "being a great, funny mystery"!They also ate the perfect snacks to complement the book - Goldfish crackers, Swedish fish candy and bottles of water.

What did your book club think? We'd love to know ...

More fun fountains in Newport, RI

"Most Fun" award!  This fountain sits on the patio of O'Brien's (Pub) & Restaurant, and allows kids to "fish" while waiting for their meals!

"Most Artistic" fountain: It's handcrafted of solid bronze, weighing nearly 900 lbs., and was  installed last Spring in Washington Square, Newport. It is a replica of a fountain that stood in the same spot about 100 years ago, and was used for watering horses.

Thanks to Barbara from the Middletown Public Library for sending these photos and captions!

Skylar's Fountain

Check out this dream fountain from Skylar, another participant in the West Warwick Public Library's summer book group.

Looks like a fun place to play, climb and swing on a hot summer day in Rhode Island.

Thanks for sharing, Skylar!

Any more ideas out there? Send your videos, drawings, poems, stories, etc. to youthrari@gmail.com. See them here on the blog! Thanks!

Matthew's Fountain

Check out this fountain from Matthew, a participant in the West Warwick Public Library's summer book group. Looks delicious! Which drink would you choose?

• Coolata?
• Smoothie?
• Milk?
• Ice Tea? Sweetened or Unsweetened?
• Hot Chocolate?
• Water?
• Orange Juice?
• Apple Juice?

Thanks for sharing, Matthew.

Drew's Fountain

Fountain design by Drew, participant in the Share-A-Story Book Group at the East Smithfield Public Library.

Drew's fountain includes:
*A tree house with giant water tubes attached to the sides
*Water ladder
*Tire swing with a hose on the top to cool you off
*Tree house in the middle of the pool
*In the pool are mini-volcanoes that shoot out water
*On the side of the pool are vending machines with any kind of drink known to man!

Thanks for sharing your dream fountain, Drew.

Now, readers, what are your ideas? Email them (video, photos, poems, stories, etc.) to youthrari@gmail.com. Have fun dreaming!

Sarah's Fountain

Sarah described her fountain for us.  Send us a description of your fountain.  It can be written or a video.

Make a Splash! with Kate Klise, Part 6 (a message for the grownups!)

One more thought from Kate Klise (in her own words) ...

P.S. One more thing: And this is more to the adults than the kids: I wrote Regarding the Fountain when all I really had was time - and a library card. I didn't have a publishing contract. I didn't even have a job. Worse yet, I had no real prospects for a job. I had recently ended a relationship, and had no prospects in that department, either. I had very little confidence in myself or my writing because the newspaper editor who had fired me had done so in a letter in which he outlined all my faults as a writer. I didn't even have very much food in my house because this was during an ice storm, back before I had a four-wheel-drive vehicle. I couldn't get out of my little Missouri valley to buy food. All I had was coffee, Diet Coke, microwave popcorn ... and time. I also had a newspaper article I'd torn from the business section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about two guys who designed fountains. I wrote Regarding the Fountain book in one week for no other reason than that it amused me. Of course I had to spend a year and a half rewriting it, but I think there's something to the power of finding time, making time to do things that simply amuse us. Kids are better at this than we are. But I know I'm at my best when I stop thinking like a 47-year-old and start thinking like a 10-year-old who just wants to have fun and make a splash