FLOTSAM

by David Wiesner
ISBN: 9780618194575

Bibliography:
Wiesner, David. 2006. Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books.

Plot:
A very curious young boy is observing items on the beach when he discovers an underwater camera. He has the film from within the camera developed and is absolutely amazed, when he finds some very odd pictures of sea creatures behaving as humans, small green aliens, giant starfish, and more. He is especially intrigued by a picture of a girl holding a picture of a boy holding a picture and so on. He uses his magnifying glass and then his microscope to see the other pictures in the pictures. He decides to take a picture of himself holding the picture so that the cycle can continue. He flings the camera back into the sea, and it washes up on another beach where a young girl later discovers it.

Analysis:
This wordless picture book relies on each picture to tell the story and forces the reader to utilize his/her own observation skills to make sense of it all. The use of bright colors immediately catches the eye of the reader and pulls him/her into the story. The illustrations are magical and fit together perfectly to describe a curious day at the beach. As one observes each page of this story, he/she is given the freedom to create his/her own inner dialogue about the events in the story.

Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal: "This wordless book's vivid watercolor paintings have a crisp realism that anchors the elements of fantasy. Shifting perspectives, from close-ups to landscape views, and a layout incorporating broad spreads and boxed sequences, add drama and motion to the storytelling and echo the photographic theme."

Booklist: “Wiesner offers another exceptional, wordless picture book that finds wild magic in quiet, everyday settings.”

Connections:
*As a writing project students can create captions or text bubbles for the pictures.

*Students can create a sequel to this story starting with the young girl finding the camera.

*Since Flotsam relies heavily on observation skills, it can be used as an introduction for scientific observation skills or using science tools.