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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
This was another of those books my English tutor read to us at the end of seminars. I'm still a bit traumatised.
Love this book. Short but a great and intense. Currently reading the sequel “beneath the Surface”
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such an intriguing book from my childhood I had to reread again. I think I never understood the ending as a kid but now I feel I do. Beautiful illustrations, so many fun hidden features, and the perfect amount of creepy, despite how short it is; excited to read the sequel.
Another peculiar inventive and very well done illustrated book from Crew, who knows how to take the whole genre and make it his own. Brilliant.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An excellent picture book for older readers by Gary Crew & Steven Woolman. The text and pictures combine to create an uneasy, eerie feeling as the town of Preston slowly reveals itself to be more than what is seen on the surface. Cleverly, for much of the book the pictures and the text are telling two different parts of a connected story. Children love exploring the pictures for details and clues and the way the illustrator uses the layout is very engaging. Highly recommended for Year 5 and well up in to high school.
This is a pretty good ‘picture book’/graphic novel. I’d say it’s a little on the short side really which stops it having the impact that it could do, but it’s still very creepy, particularly when you look at the detail in the pictures to tell a different story to the words. I’ve read it as a teacher and am looking forwarding to using it with my class.
Back in junior school, our librarian used to read to us from books short-listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia awards each year and then we would have our own ballot to choose our favourite. One year this was one of the books shortlisted. It's stayed with me ever since because of the sheer creepiness of the tale – Gary Crew is well known for his dark stories – and the illustrations. Reading it again now I was pleased to find that it hits exactly the same spot as it did all those years ago.
On a hot summer's day, two boys go for a swim in the local watertower, an alien-looking structure that exudes malevolence over the town. Stephen Woolman's rich illustrations perfectly capture the tension of Crew's story, and become increasingly creepy towards the end, particularly the pages in which the townspeople look towards the watertower, malevolent intent in their eyes, a pitchfork in the hand of one. Their eyes absolutely glow with a terrible and sinister charm as Bubba, one of the boys, becomes one of them.
On a hot summer's day, two boys go for a swim in the local watertower, an alien-looking structure that exudes malevolence over the town. Stephen Woolman's rich illustrations perfectly capture the tension of Crew's story, and become increasingly creepy towards the end, particularly the pages in which the townspeople look towards the watertower, malevolent intent in their eyes, a pitchfork in the hand of one. Their eyes absolutely glow with a terrible and sinister charm as Bubba, one of the boys, becomes one of them.
Creepy book - loved it. One of those you go back and read a few times to try to figure out what happened.
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.
Crew and Woolman’s partnership is complex and makes for one of the most ambiguous and strange children’s book that I have read. The interaction between the slightly sparse writing and the pictures leave the plot open ended and subject to interpretation- an excellent resource for developing inference skills and encouraging opinions to be justified. There are a lot of opportunities for making meaning behind the journey undertaken by the characters, making it essential that careful time and attention is taken to unpicking the elaborate illustrations. It took me a second read to notice many of the visual clues, and even a third unveiled more layers that had gone unnoticed. Within a class context, discussion with children would push this further, resulting in an all the more eerie story.
Crew and Woolman’s partnership is complex and makes for one of the most ambiguous and strange children’s book that I have read. The interaction between the slightly sparse writing and the pictures leave the plot open ended and subject to interpretation- an excellent resource for developing inference skills and encouraging opinions to be justified. There are a lot of opportunities for making meaning behind the journey undertaken by the characters, making it essential that careful time and attention is taken to unpicking the elaborate illustrations. It took me a second read to notice many of the visual clues, and even a third unveiled more layers that had gone unnoticed. Within a class context, discussion with children would push this further, resulting in an all the more eerie story.