Book Review for FLOTSAM by David Wiesner

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY


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

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Flotsam follows a day at the beach for one young boy. One day that yields more discoveries than the young aspiring scientist could imagine. Expecting a day of close examination of sea creatures, our protagonist finds an old-fashioned camera deposited on the beach by the waves. The boy displays a continued sense of right, which is first seen in his conscientious care for the animals he is studying, with the camera he has found. Although it is encrusted with barnacles showing extended time in the sea, he attempts to find the camera’s owner. Eventually he retrieves the film left in the camera to be developed and finds the photographs yielded hold their own mysteries. Across cultures, generations, and an unknown world beneath the waters, the camera has recorded truths for our main character.

Truths of the connected nature of animals and humans, of land and sea, and of people wherever they reside. The boy lends his own likeness to the history of the camera and sends it back to the sea where we see it travel miles to begin the next lesson for a little girl on a distant beach.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This picture book is wordless allowing the illustrations to convey all the author intends. The palette is light pastel and comforting. It evokes a sense of a lazy day at the seaside. The colors are those associated with typical coastal scenes. Photographs from the camera have colors, or lack thereof in the case of the oldest black and white photos, that reflect the changing time periods.

Size plays an important part to this story as well. The author depicts the boy as large in the first frames as he is studying the animals. The scale suggests he is dominant and powerful. As the story progresses he becomes smaller in relation to the sea emphasizing the theme of connectivity and relationships. Size is also seen in the snapshots of cities on the backs of turtles and beach areas on the backs of starfish. All things are seen as a part of a continuum and perspective matters.

With inviting illustrations of soft lines and color, Wiesner draws the reader onto the beach from early on with realistic scenes, and they allow the reader to feel the wonder of the boy trying to understand the photographs he finds. Young readers will enjoy the illustrations and creatures of the work, while older readers including adults will understand and appreciate the larger message of the book which challenges all to look closer at the world around us and to be surprised by what we find.

4. AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

Winner of Caldecott Medal 2007

From Horn Book (83.1 January/February 2007): “involving and convincing”

From One Minute Book Reviews by Word Press: “an eloquent, wordless picture book that encourages children to find the magic in everyday life” (by Janice Harayda)

From Common Sense Media: “beautiful book with captivating illustrations” (by Patricia Tauzer)

5. CONNECTIONS

*bring in items from the story for study (microscope, magnifying glass, hermit crab, camera, etc.)

*take pictures of the students to share, perhaps even create a time capsule to leave for posterity

*teach the students about flotsam and how it comes to be; this can tie to an ecological lesson

*have the students read and share ideas about other Wiesner books like The Three Pigs or Tuesday or Sector 7. How are they similar? How are they different?