Book review: The Deep

From Goodreads: Alice lives in a house by the sea. Snakes and spiders don't scare her, but she's very afraid of the deep ocean water. Her swimming, splashing, diving family urge her to come out and play with them, but no matter how hard she tries, Alice still can't leave the green shallows for the deep. This moving story about a girl besting her fears is matched with warm, light-splashed illustrations.

Thoughts: I thought if I was going to aim to read all of Tim Winton's books, I couldn't ignore one just because it was a picture book.
The Deep is about Alice and how she is afraid to swim in the deep. Every day her family jump off the jetty to swim, but Alice is afraid. She knows how to swim, so why can't she swim in the deep? Then one day some new friends help her conquer her fear. 
Winton captures the fear and frustration of Alice beautifully, helped by Karen Louise's illustrations. I am seriously in awe of this mans ability to move between audiences.