Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this wordless, beautiful book with captivating illustrations won the 2007 Caldecott Medal. Kids of all ages will appreciate the story on its various levels.
Families can talk about the things the boy finds in the ocean and the adventures he has. Kids might enjoy talking about what they like to do when they go to the beach. What have they found? What adventures have they had? Have they ever thought of taking along a microscope or a magnifying glass? Have they ever looked at a photo under a microscope? What would they do if they found a camera washed up in the waves? Would they like to take underwater photos? Do all books need words? Why or why not?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Patricia Tauzer
On the very first page, a startled hermit crab poses in front of a gigantic blue background eye. The next page pulls back to show that crab under the magnifying glass of a young boy at the beach. And thus begins the saga of FLOTSAM. With no text to interfere, expressive, sensitively painted, watercolors tell the story as words never could.
Many of the illustrations are the amazing photographs the boy develops from the underwater camera he finds. The magic of these imaginative, somewhat surreal photos is intriguing and will amaze the reader, too: A mechanical, wind-up fish swims amid his red-scaled brethren; a green, grassy island grows on the back of a starfish, which is larger than the humpback whales that swim through its legs; an intricate shell city is carried on the back of a tortoise.
But the most intriguing photograph the boy discovers is that of a young girl holding the photo of a boy holding the photo of another boy, and so on. When the boy mounts the photograph on his microscope, he adjusts and readjusts the power and finds that the picture stretches back over several layers of space and time. Ultimately, he adds himself to the stream.
David Wiesner is a talented, clever, prolific artist with a self-avowed passion for what he calls "wordless storytelling." He manages to pack his pages with details variously framed and set up like a comic book, yet masterfully placed to create the rhythm of a classic tale. Of all Wiesner's books, Flotsam in particular reflects his fascination with what comes before and after a picture.
Weisner previously received the Caldecott Medal for Tuesday and The Three Pigs. He has also received two Caldecott Honors.
From The Book
Illustrations alone drive this story, but Weisner adds notes on the jacket:
Flotsam:
Something that floats.
If it floats in the ocean,
it may wash up on the beach,
where someone may find it
and be astonished,
and share the discovery
with someone else.
Plot Summary:
While digging for crabs, a wave sweeps the boy off his feet and deposits an underwater camera on the sand in front of him. After he recovers, he has the film developed and is captivated by what he finds. Ultimately, he tosses the camera back into the sea, where it's carried away by various creatures until it again washes ashore for a new child to find.
Related Books:
Other Books by David Wiesner:
Sector 7
Tuesday
The Three Pigs
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