The Watertower

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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. A haunting story that follows two friends who go and visit the watertower, a mysterious building that has sat upon a hill above the local town for as long as anyone can remember. Without ruining the plot, this is a narrative that becomes increasingly unsettling (and obscure) as Spike and Bubba's exploration progresses, and as the reader delves deeper into the tale. 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. 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.

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. 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 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. The ‘Watertower’ is essentially a graphic novel or visual text, making use of both words and art to impart the story. The books itself centres around two boys who decide to explore an old water tower, which towers over the small mid American town of Preston. The Water tower dominates the town, standing high upon Shooter’s hill. 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.

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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. 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. 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. 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. 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… Whole Class Reading resources and planning for Year 6 in a zip file based on Gary Crew’s book ‘The Water Tower’.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. 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:

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.

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Bubba is described as not particularly liking the water. He only gets in the water up to his knees, splashes around a bit, and glances up towards the light "imagining." Perhaps he is wondering where Spike is hiding. As a reader, I assumed Spike had descended into the tank first. He finally calls out to Spike telling him that he is going to climb out of the tower and get dressed. Still there is no answer from Spike, and Bubba assumes Spike is somewhere beneath him in the water. When Bubba climbs out of the tank, he wraps his towel around his waist and begins searching for his clothes. He sees Spike's clothes wedged beneath the hatch but can only see his shirt flapping in the wind. He cannot find his pants. He calls to Spike, whom he assumes is down inside the tank and asks him if his pants are "down there," when all of a sudden Spike appears behind him, dripping wet. How did Spike get out of the tank before Bubba? How did Spike get behind him? Something strange and unusual is taking place here. Spike laughs, and Bubba assumes his pants have blown away. Spike tells Bubba to go home with the towel wrapped around his waist, but he shakes his head, "No way. If my mother finds out I lost my pants, I'm dead." Bubba fears his mother because she "could land a wallop like nobody else in town." Bubba's mother only appears in one illustration in the text, and she is seen standing at a window staring at the watertower. The expression on her face is sinister, and there is a reflection of the tower that can be seen in the upper, left-hand corner of the window above her head. Does she care where Bubba is headed after all? Has she gone for a swim in the tower metamorphosing as well? Night Swim Equals Death: Subverted. The sotry takes place during the day and nobody dies...we think.