Flotsam- David Wiesner- Caldecott Medal (2007)

    Flotsam is a beautiful and textless book, which greatly deserved its 2007 Caldecott medal. Flotsam takes the reader through an amazing, suspenseful journey without a written word. A young boy is playing on the beach, exploring shells and crabs, just like any other ordinary boy on any ordinary beach. He happens to find an old underwater camera washed up on the beach, and his curiosity about its origin and contents are amazing. The curious young boy is astounded with photos of squid and fish relaxing in a cozy living room set on the ocean floor, several fish flying above the sea in the basket of a hot-air balloon made of a giant puffer fish, humongous sea turtles with the contents of entire civilizations on their backs, mechanical schools of fish, underwater aliens and starfish bigger than whales! Lastly, our hero is confused and amazed to find a photo of a girl, holding a photo of a boy, holding a photo of another girl, and on and on. The conclusion of this breathtaking story not only explains the mysterious photographs, but really speaks to the power of imagination of children throughout generations. 

    I loved this book. I didn't realize that it was entirely a picture book until I brought it home and opened it, and if I'm honest, I was disappointed. I really love books with original and interesting plots, and I honestly thought 'Aw, man. This is just going to be pictures.' Too many books that I've seen without any text have been just 'pretty books' without much substance or thought to plot. Flotsam really surprised me with its suspenseful and clever story, as well its truly beautiful illustrations. It proved to be a very pretty book, with sharp, detailed pictures of spectacular events, but it also gave the reader something more. This would be a wonderful book to teach younger children prediction strategies while reading, since the conflict isn't resolved predictably or quickly, and each panel is so expressive.

    I suppose if anything had an impact on my perception of Flotsam, it would be the bitter cold outside right now. The beautiful images in this book told an enthralling story through pictures, but also reminded me of the beach, to be warm, to be someplace carefree in the summer without any obligations. I'm suffering through the cold winter this year, and miss spring and summer weather everyday. Page after page of bright, cheery beach weather was very refreshing to say the least.
I also loved the element of surprise and discovery that this book lent to its readers. The boy in the book is so anxious to know the secrets of the antique camera, and is richly rewarded when he discovers what it's been taking photos of. I love stories that feed your imagination (and excite kids' imaginations!), and Flotsam was just the ticket for that.


    I would rank this book among the best text-less books I've ever seen. So many like Flotsam give so much attention to its illustrations, and while some amazing images can be presented and should be presented to children through picture books, often word-less books offer little in the way of story telling. I was reminded of Chris Van Allsberg (who wrote Jumanji, The Sweetest Fig, and the Mysteries of Harris Burdick) when I read this book, because his books too have the most fantastic pictures (Two Bad Ants is also a text-less book of his with an exciting plot) and never fail to amaze the reader with twists of plot, fanciful surroundings, and gorgeous scenes. If you're a Van Allsburg fan, please pick up Flotsam- it's got the same caliber of mystery and charm without sacrificing storyline.


I think that I've mostly learned, just for myself, not to judge books so quickly by what they seem to be. I was truly let down when I discovered that Flotsam didn't have any words (from a teaching standpoint, you can only do so much with a text-less book, especially if it's just a pretty book), but as I delved into the scenes, I was caught up in the story myself. I actually found myself studying the panels for clues as to what was going to happen next. I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the book, and I confess that if I had known it didn't have any words, I probably would have passed it by.