The Watertower

I love this book - it is so clever and stirs emotions of confusion within the reader so easily. The only thing that I didn't like about it when I first read it, was that it raised so many questions that I had nowhere to find an answer to! Well never fear, make sure you read the sequel - BENEATH THE SURFACE. It shows how the watertower affects the world. Truly breathtaking storytelling.

This eerie tale will keep the reader intrigued long after finishing the book. In the town of Preston, an old rusting water tower stands on the edge of a hill. Two boys decide to go inside for a swim on a sweltering summer day. What happens inside is a mystery, but one of the boys is forever changed. This 1995 Australian Picture Book of the Year winner uses the contrast between colorful illustrations and black background to great effect. In a twist on the usual picture book, the illustrations tell the real story, while the text provides the background information. What a great puzzle. This is the kind of book that I could not stop thinking about, even long after I read it. This is an engaging book for adults as well as for children.

This book has kept the students in my grade 4/5 class at Acton School in Burnie, Tasmania captivated throughout this whole week. At first when I read it to them they picked up that the town residents eyes were funny looking but on further investigation they found many other peculiarities in the story. They were crowding around the book trying to see the different pictures and solve the mystery. Erin says her favourite part was when Bubba came out of the tank and Spike wants him to show him his hand. Bubba says "No" because his mum would be worried however at the beginning he says that his mum would not care! Alaster says that his favourite part of the book is solving all the mysteries.Laura says her favourite part of the book was the picture of Bubba's face up close. Melissa Lowry agrees with Erin that the part where Bubba came out of the Watertower is her favourite. Actually most of the class agrees that this part was the best. I think this is because it began all the questioning about the story.Aaron and Matthew say that the mystery is related to the pitchfork that is seen on all pages. We will be continuing to use Gary Crew books for language and drama work. We would love to hear from any one who has solved the mysteries in the story or of any activities you have been doing in the classroom. Thanks. .............

I have always been a fan of gary's and i was lucky enough to meet him. i was in one of his workshops on writing and i found him to be truly amazing.The Watertower, was a book we read in book club with older readers, and we found it intreging. It was easy to read the story, but as soon as you saw the subliminal messages in the illustrations, it was hard to focus your concerntration on the actual text. Don't shrug it off if you have that poor attitude about picture books.

Alluring pictures cleverly take you into the rich text format of this unusual book. Engaging story about two boys, recognisable both by wonderful colourful pictures with close-ups resembling photographs. Characters are sensitively drawn and deal with issues around being a boy in today's world, parenting and peer group pressure. Bubba challenges his fear through interacting with the mystic waters of the water tower which takes on a totemic aura throughout the story. Boys love this book and so do I as an adult. It's filmic, graphic and invites many readings.