The Watertower

Product Information

In 2004, a sequel was published called Beneath the Surface, casting a clearer light on what the water tower is really for, while still keeping some of its mystery.

Nothing Is Scarier: It's never revealed exactly what made Bubba go from scared to confident. Beneath the Surface reveals that the water itself is what changes people. It is a fantastic book, with beautiful illustrations that my class and I pored over together for a good few lessons, noticing lots of small details and something new each time we looked at the book again. The text itself does not give much detail which adds to the mystery. The water tower is extremely creepy, and it feels that the two unsuspecting characters are walking into a trap by going there. The creepy residents of the town are never explained, but are seen with the strange symbol on their hands and clothes, looking towards the water tower as if in a trance. We don't even know what happens to Bubba at the end of the story, and why he suddenly changes in the way in talks and behaves.

This book draws you in right from the beginning with the cover. The cover is eerie and also has some foreshadowing to what is to come. This is a great mystery book for children and I really believe that older children will love it. Abandoned Area: Played with. The water tower isn't well-guarded and just barely kept from falling into disrepair. The sequel reveals that whoever put it there wanted people to think it was this. The story follows two teenage boys — Spike and Bubba — who live out in a country town called Preston. They live nowhere near the beach and there's no pools around, so to cool off they decide to go for a dip in the enigmatic water tower. Bubba loses his shorts and is too embarrassed to go home, so Spike runs home to get him another pair. While Spike is gone, Bubba begins to suspect that there might be more to the water tower... Jameyson (2012) contends The Watertowerhas "hooked" its readers from the very beginning, especially students who do not like to read at all: Gary Crew has been awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the year four times: twice for Book of the Year for Young Adult Older Readers (Strange Objects in 1991 and Angel’s Gate in 1993) and twice for Picture Book of the Year with First Light in 1993 (illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe) and The Watertower (illustrated by Steven Woolman) in 1994. Gary’s illustrated book, Memorial (with Shaun Tan) was awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia Honour Book in 2000 and short listed for the Queensland Premier’s Awards. He has also won the Wilderness Society Award, the Whitley Award and the Aurealis Award for Speculative Fiction.

Whilst I was reading, I was confronted with a strong haunting feeling that something wasn't quite right. The way the book is set out is a massive contributor to this- the way you have to rotate the book and the layout of the text/illustrations signify much more than just an interesting form of presentation. Gary Crew writes short stories, novels and picture books. Gary is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. He is particularly interested in researching the creative links between fiction and nonfiction in his novels and the creative interface between print text and visual text in his picture books. During his publishing career of over 30 years Gary has won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year four times, twice for novels and twice for his picture books; the New South Wales Premier's Award, the Victorian Premier's Award, the American Children's Book of Distinction, the Aurealis Best Children's Short Fiction, the Wilderness Society's Award for Environmental Writing, and the Royal Geographic Society Whitley Award. Gary lives on the waterfront of subtropical Bribie Island. When he is not writing or lecturing, he loves to walk by the sea or read. A great Halloween read-aloud, good for grades 3+, with large, bright illustrations and tons to discuss... The characters are illustrated in a lifelike manner, and some are positioned as if they are looking right at us. How does that make us feel and how does that change the story? Why would the author and illustrator want to change the direction of the layout throughout the book? What do you think Bubba saw when he was by himself in the water tower and why didn’t the author let us know? In the book two young boys named Bubba and Scott decide to go swimming in the water tower on Shooters Hill. The water tower is eerie and the pictures show green water and creepy images. These pictures give you the feeling that something bad may happen to the boys. After splashing around a little in the water Bubba decides to get out of the water, but finds that his pants are gone off the top of the water tower. Scott offers to go get him another pair from home, so Bubba’s mom won’t get mad. While Scott is gone Bubba has to make a few decisions that may change his life forever…Night Swim Equals Death: Subverted. The sotry takes place during the day and nobody dies...we think. Crew and Woolman have created something intensely eerie and mysterious in 'The Watertower'. As soon as I saw the cover of the book I knew that what I was about to read would be very different and complex as a picture book. However, the written word provides only half of the story. You definitely need to immerse yourself with the story itself as well as the brilliantly clever illustrations to uncover more. This being said, there are definitely more questions raised than answered- the more you discover, the more you want to know! Crop Circles: The circular design on the water tower as well as the book's aesthetic all allude to this. He lives with his wife Christine on several acres in the cool, high mountains of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland, Australia in a house called 'Green Mansions' which is shaded by over 200 Australian rainforest palms he has cultivated. He enjoys gardening, reading, and playing with his dogs Ferris, Beulah, and Miss Wendy. In his spare time he has created an Australian Rainforest Garden around his home, filled with Australian palms. Gary loves to visit antique shops looking for curios and beautiful objects. They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Alluded to at first and expanded upon in Beneath the Surface. The water turns everyone who drinks it into something sinister, despite little change in their appearance.