FLOTSAM by David Weisner

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Weisner, David. 2006. FLOTSAM. New York : Clarion Books.
ISBN: 9780618194575 .


AWARDS

Winner of the 2007 Randolph Caldecott Medal
A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book

PLOT SUMMARY

It's a clear, sunny day on the beach. A young boy examines flotsam--anything floating that has been washed ashore. Suddenly, the waves dispense an old-fashioned underwater camera with a collection of unusual pictures. A sequence of scenes reveals amazing secrets, from mechanical fish and octopi reading in a living room, to a puffer fish hot-air balloon, sea turtles with buildings on their backs and starfish islands. The most amusing is the image of a girl looking directly out at the viewer and holding a photo of another kid, who is holding a photo of another kid, back through all the kids who had had the camera before and finally reaching the child who had started it all many years ago. The boy takes his own picture and then returns the camera back to the ocean where it belongs to deliver it to the next curious child….

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

True to his own style, David Weisner presents another eloquent book filled with exotic and extraordinary art. The bright colors on the cover highlight the rich and vibrant story; innovative designs and page layouts add to the sense of surreal. The work contains no words; the story is told entirely with pictures arranged in perfect sequence. Expressive, sensitively painted watercolors tell the story as words never could. Versatile, light and airy pictures in the beginning create the impression of a real-life beach story. Later in the book, a more generous, colorful palette is used to frame the imaginary. The illustrations are loaded with narrative information, so the story naturally moves along with dramas and development. And the magic of the boy's imaginative, dreamlike photos is intriguing and will amaze the reader.

The joyful process of reading pictures is the earliest stage of reading. Flotsam, with its vivid pictures enforces the visual literacy. It could be read not only by pre-readers and beginning readers, but also by adults (even illiterate or semiliterate) who want to read to children. They can tell the book, using the pictures for clues to the emerging plot. Flotsam encourages children to notice the details of beautiful illustrations, make discoveries for themselves, and anticipate what is going to happen next.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

BOOKLIST, starred review: "Wiesner offers another exceptional, wordless picture book that finds wild magic in quiet, everyday settings…”

HORN BOOK MAGAZINE: "The meticulous and rich detail of Wiesner's watercolors makes the fantasy involving and convincing."

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY, starred review: "New details swim into focus with every rereading of this immensely satisfying excursion.”, starred review, August 2006 review, August 2006

CONNECTIONS

• Watercolors have been the medium of choice for a number of picture book illustrators:
Shulevitz, Uri. Snow. ISBN 9780374468620
Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly Worried. ISBN 9780061857768
Say, Allen. Grandfathers’s Journey. ISBN 9780547076805
Children may be introduced to some examples through a book display and by examining carefully one that appeals to them. These activities may be followed by a demonstration of watercolor painting by local artists.
• Ocean/Beach stories discussion – children can talk about the things the boy finds in the ocean and the adventures he has. What kind of shore flotsam they have found in the past?
• Introduce other wordless books:
Wiesner, David. Tuesday.ISBN-10: 0395870828 ISBN-13: 978-0395870822
Myer, Mercer. A boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend. ISBN-10: 0803728816
Ormerod, Jan. Sunshine. ISBN-13: 9781845073909