Module 2/SLIS 5420/June 16-20
Bibliography
Weisner, David. (2006). Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books.
ISBN: 0-618-19457-6
Summary
Told completely through vibrant illustrations, Flotsam, is the story of a curious boy who loves collecting objects on the beach to examine. One sunny day, he finds an underwater camera that has drifted ashore from the deep blue sea. Eager to see what is on the film of this old-fashioned camera, he takes the photos to be developed and generations-old mystery is unlocked.
My Impressions
Flotsam is the kind of story I would have cherished if it were around when I was a child. The images are incredible - often panning in and out of shots as if a movie camera - but what stands out is the incredible story telling that these pictures are able to accomplish. It's one thing to have beautiful images illustrate a book, but it's another when those images not only tell a story well, but unlock a mystery, one page at a time and tell a compelling story that you want to read over and over again.
Once the boy finds an antique camera washed ashore, he develops the pictures to find out that the underwater sea life live much more fantastical and exciting life than we could ever imagine... but it's what he finds at the end of the roll that pulls the story together into an unforgettable tale. I don't want to give it away - you have to pick it up yourself and experience Flotsam.
Reviews
School Library Journal: " Kindergarten-Grade 4–A wave deposits an old-fashioned contraption at the feet of an inquisitive young beachcomber. Its a Melville underwater camera, and the excited boy quickly develops the film he finds inside. The photos are amazing: a windup fish, with intricate gears and screwed-on panels, appears in a school with its living counterparts; a fully inflated puffer, outfitted as a hot-air balloon, sails above the water; miniature green aliens kowtow to dour-faced sea horses; and more. The last print depicts a girl, holding a photo of a boy, and so on. As the images become smaller, the protagonist views them through his magnifying glass and then his microscope. The chain of children continues back through time, ending with a sepia image of a turn-of-the-20th-century boy waving from a beach. After photographing himself holding the print, the youngster tosses the camera back into the ocean, where it makes its way to its next recipient. This wordless books 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. Filled with inventive details and delightful twists, each snapshot is a tale waiting to be told. Pair this visual adventure with Wiesners other works, Chris Van Allsburgs titles, or Barbara Lehmans The Red Book (Houghton, 2004) for a mind-bending journey of imagination." –Joy Fleishhacker
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist: PreS-Gr. 2. "As in his Caldecott Medal Book Tuesday (1991), Wiesner offers another exceptional, wordless picture book that finds wild magic in quiet, everyday settings. At the seaside, a boy holds a magnifying glass up to a flailing hermit crab; binoculars and a microscope lay nearby. The array of lenses signals the shifting viewpoints to come, and in the following panels, the boy discovers an old-fashioned camera, film intact. A trip to the photo store produces astonishing pictures: an octopus in an armchair holding story hour in a deep-sea parlor; tiny, green alien tourists peering at sea horses. There are portraits of children around the world and through the ages, each child holding another child's photo. After snapping his own image, the boy returns the camera to the sea, where it's carried on a journey to another child. Children may initially puzzle, along with the boy, over the mechanics of the camera and the connections between the photographed portraits. When closely observed, however, the masterful watercolors and ingeniously layered perspectives create a clear narrative, and viewers will eagerly fill in the story's wordless spaces with their own imagined story lines. Like Chris Van Allsburg's books and Wiesner's previous works, this visual wonder invites us to rethink how and what we see, out in the world and in our mind's eye." Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Awards
Winner of the 2007 Randolph Caldecott Medal
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2006
Booklist Editor's Choice 2006
School Library Journal Best Book of 2006
Horn Book Fanfare Title
Book Sense Children's Pick, Autumn 2006
Washington Post Top 10 Picture Book of the Year
Parents' Choice Award Winner
New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading & Sharing
Chicago Public Library, Best Books of the Year
Flotsam is a great book to use during an ocean program - because of it's lovely illustrations. But, and even more interesting program or activity to use along with Flotsam would be a time capsule. Having kids come up with their own time capsule idea - or something similar to the camera in the story would be a great way to incorporate a discussion about the history and ancestors that came before us and how we can link our past with our future and connect to those that will come after us.
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