Flotsam

Book Title: Flotsam

Author(s): David Wiesner

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: David Wiesner

Publisher: Clarion Books

Copyright Date: 2006

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction, wordless book

Brief Annotation: This is a wordless picture book that follows a boy's day hunting for treasures on the beach. He initially finds a crab, but then moves onto a much more interesting discovery--a camera with film he can develop! The pictures walk the reading audience through what was on the film and then follows the boy as he adds to the collection and tosses it back into the sea for another child to find.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 2: The illustrations in this book don't follow a consistent format on every page, so even as an adult it's a little difficult to decide which picture to focus on first in order to follow the story. The beginning was straightforward, but then there were a lot of concepts the teacher would have to walk the kids through as the boy makes more and more complex discoveries on the beach. I think a child would have trouble with this book on their own.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those who enjoy reading independently. They can make up their own unique story every time they 'read' the pages.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: I would ask children which animal they think is on the cover (it's a close up of a fish). Where do we find fish? Where do you think this book takes place--an ocean? A lake? I would show them the first few pages and ask what else they think the boy might find on the beach.

List Awards: 2007 recipient of the Caldecott Medal