Module 3- SLIS 5420

Flotsam
by David Wiesner

Wiesner, David. (2006). Flotsam. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Summary

A young boy and his family are visiting the beach, and as he explores his seaside findings, an old camera washes onto the shore. Intrigued, he takes the film out and has the pictures developed, only to discover an amazing secret that was locked within this camera. The amazing illustrations in this wordless book tell the story with amazing detail. Wiesner was awarded a Caldecott medal for his incredible work in Flotsam.

Impressions

I have never had a great deal of interest in wordless books, but this story captured my interest immediately. The wonderfully intricate details of the pictures told this story better than any words could! I can only imagine how much more a child would love this book than an adult. I applaud the creative genius needed to create such a magical story.

Reviews

In Wiesner's latest wordless book, a boy at the beach closely examines items washed up from the sea; when a wave brings forth an old camera, the boy's viewing takes a radical shift. He gets the film developed, allowing Wiesner's imagination great play. The meticulous and rich detail of the clue- and fancy-strewn watercolors makes this fantasy involving and convincing.
Sutton, R. (2006). Flotsam. Horn Book Magazine, 82(5), 571-572.

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 tbe photographic theme.
Filled with inventive details and delightful twists, eacb snapshot is a tale waiting to be told.
The properties and attendant framing shapes of the magnifying glass, camera, and microscope focus on photographs from a camera found on the beach. The watercolor sequence moves around the world and back in time, revealing a child holding a picture of the subsequent child (and an underwater fantasy) in this Caldecott winner.
Fleishhacker, J. (2006). Flotsam. School Library Journal, 52(9), 186-187.

Suggestions for Use

Students will be challenged to come up with text to go along with the pictures. Begin lesson by “reading” the book to the students, allowing them time to see each page and take in the details. After reading, start at the beginning of the story and ask students to come up with possible text for each page, explaining that when there are words in a story, the pictures normally compliment the words. But in this book, we must work backwards and use the pictures to create the text. Go through several pages, even skip around a bit for the sake of time, and let the children give their ideas. Afterwards, go back and read the pages with the text supplied by the students. Discuss briefly whether they think the story is better with or without the words (gently steering the discussion towards without!). Reinforce to the students that words are not necessarily needed to make a great book.