Charlie Thomson, In the Deep End, State Library Queensland, December 2020, 32pp., RRP $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781922467331
Like monsters under the bed, pool vacuums – with their strange, elongated shape lying blurry at the bottom of the pool – are a common childhood fear, especially in Queensland where pools abound. In the Deep End is a rhyming picture book which explores this fear. Written from the first-person point-of-view, it’s about a boy who loves to swim but fears the deep end of his backyard pool. In his imagination, the pool vacuum is a dragon-heading, snake-tailed monster. But when his dad pulls it out of the water and shows him more closely, his fear goes away.
With bright, cheerful illustrations, the book is sure to help children with a similar fear.
Reviewed by Pam Ueckerman
