The Watertower

Product Information

Crop Circles: The circular design on the water tower as well as the book's aesthetic all allude to this.

Jameyson (2012) contends The Watertowerhas "hooked" its readers from the very beginning, especially students who do not like to read at all: The book follows the codes and conventions of a subgenre of science fiction, known as gothic science fiction. It involves a "pleasing hobo sort of terror" related to gothic tradition but also has references to technology corrupting life. This is represented through the use of satellites. 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?

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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. This book drew me in by the eery cover. I was also anxious to see how anyone could make a water tower interesting. The story is set in the small town of Preston, with the Water Tower sitting atop Shooter’s Hill. The two main characters, Spike Trotter and Bubba D’Angelo got together one day and headed to the water tower to swim. The illustrations did a great job of continuing to depict the eery feel that the author wanted his readers to feel; one picture would show the outside bright and cheery while the next picture showed the dark and gloomy inside as the boys descended down the ladder into the water. Unfortunately when they went to leave, Bubba’s clothes had blown away or had been taken so, Spike ran to the house to get Bubba some clothes so he wouldn’t return home and get in trouble with his mom. Spike and Bubba could sense something weird going on around them but just couldn’t figure out what was going on, even the people in the town all stared strangely at Bubba has he ran through to the house. Although Crew's The Watertowerwon The Australian Children's Picturebook of the Year after it was published, the intended audience for this book is between 9 - 15 year-old students, perhaps even older students and adults. Paulsen (1995) writes, "[M]ore often than not they are written for older readers rather than youngsters you might expect. . . . So while Gary Crew is primarily marketed as a children's writer, he is not constrained by marketing boundaries. Indeed many of his books are ageless, able to be enjoyed by children and adults alike." Paulsen (1995) also suggests "The Watertower belongs to a new niche in children's literature, that of the picture book for mid-primary to mid-secondary readers . . . kids aged from nine to fifteen. According to Crew it is 'based on the notion that children, especially older boys, still love looking at pictures, but are generally intellectually insulted by the childish fare (in both print and visual text) that they are served up.'"

Both Crew and Woolman like to make their readers work. They understand precisely how much explanation their audience needs, and The Watertowerstrains readers' abilities to the breaking point. 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 Watertower is an Australian picture book written by popular children's author Gary Crew and illustrated by Steven Woolman. It was first Published in 1994. It's refreshing to see challenging and complex stories being told in unique ways. It would be excellent to discuss with children and very interesting to see their opinions of the book after a first reading. Much like myself, I can imagine that children might be slightly disappointed in the ending of the book. Once you delve deeper into the vocabulary and illustrations you end up discovering something full of intrigue and mystery. The Corruption: Bubba's fate at the end. It's implied the adults in Preston have gone through this as well.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. 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. 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. 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... 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.

Night Swim Equals Death: Subverted. The sotry takes place during the day and nobody dies...we think.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… The illustrations are at least as important as the text; indeed in some respects it’s more important. A good example of the is the town’s people, where the narrative itself says nothing but the images make it clear that, for the inhabitants, the boys exploring the water tower has a far greater significance than an antidote to a scorching hot day. Dr Gary Crew, author of novels, short stories and picture books for older children and young adults, began his writing career in 1985, when he was a high school teacher. His books are challenging and intriguing, often based on non-fiction. As well as writing fiction, Gary is a Associate Professor in Creative Writing, Children's and Adult Literature, at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and editor of the After Dark series. 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!