Randolph Caldecott Award/Caldecott Honor Books

Weisner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books.


The vibrant colors and sea life immediately drew me to this book. Opening the book to the first few pages was as intriguing as the front cover. The wordless pages ,with detailed watercolored illustrations, perfectly set the beach setting for the story. David Wiesner ingeniously used sea life in the illustrations that would appeal to young readers, like a puffin fish used as a hot-air balloon. The wordless feature of this book allows the reader to create a unique storyline using the detailed illustrations and allows them to add their own details, based on their prior knowledge of sea life.


The older model camera that played an intricate role in the story,allowed me to immediately connect to this story. As a child, my grandparents had many things, like a camera, that I was intrigued with and wanted to know how they worked. As I read the book, images of my grandfather's camera came to mind. Just as I was intriqued by my grnadparent's, I was now intriqued by the camera in Flotsam. As I read the story, the manner in which the author used the camera was mysteriously and masterfully done. This very aspect of the story will definitely hold the attention of its readers. The camera washes ashore and is amazingly found to hold pictures of previous beach goers from many years prior. He then realizes like the many lucky finders of this camera, that he too make take his picture and return it to the ocean and allow the magnificent sea life to assist it to its next destination.


David Wiesner was an unknown author to me until I researched recent Caldecott Award books. In conducting further research about David Wiesner, I can now understand why he is an astounding and respected Caldecott Award winning author. His website for Flotsam,www.thefishknowthesecret.com, gave the book new life and allow others to experience their own Flotsam. This book is certain to spark the interest of reluctant readers.

From reading this book, I have learned wordless book can do what some books with page after page of words cannot do-hold the interest of its reader. David Wiesner is an author that has the ability to inspire children to continue to read with enthusiasm and appreciation.