Flotsam is an amazing picture book by David Wiesner. When I first checked it out from the public library I did not think I woulld like it because it has no words. I generally prefer to read a story that is written by someone else than to come up with my own because I am not that imaginative. However, once I opened the book I realized that I could not put it down and I had to know what happened on every page.
This is the story about a boy who goes to the beach to find and look at interesting flotsam (floating debris). A old underwater camera washes up on the shore and he discovers that there is film inside of it. He rushes to get the film developed so that he can see what he has found. The roll of film proves to be very intriguing and shows things that one could only imagine happening under the water. There are pictures of islands that are really giant starfish that can move wherever they please, an octopus that is reading a book in its home underwater (complete with a sofa, armchair, and lamp), a school of fish swimming by with a wind-up fish in their midst, and a seaturtle with a town made up of shells that lives on its back, etc.
The last picture is the one that the boy finds most interesting. It is a picture of a girl holding a photo of a boy holding a photo of a girl holding a photo, and on and on. The boy happens to have his magnifying glass and microscope with him at the beach so he is able to magnify the picture so that he can see all of the people holding the photo in the picture. He decides to take a picture of himself holding the original picture of the girl holding the photo so that the next person will be able to see him in the long line of people with the photo. After he takes his picture, he tosses the camera back into tyhe ocean where different sea creatures carry it to the bottom.
After it makes its way to the bottom, it once again surfaces and is carried by the waves, a seagull and dolphins to the shore. The book ends by showing the underwater camera being washed onto a beach where a little girl finds it. It is up to the reader to assume that she does what the previous finder does and develops the film and takes a picture of herself before throwing it back.
This is a fabulous story of imagination and creativity. I really enjoyed reading it and coming up with my own plot. I was hooked in the beginning by the beautiful pictures in this book and I just had to read more and see what the boy discovered on the beach. Not only is the tale captivating, but the pictures are too. The illustrations done by Devid Wiesner are all done in watercolors and they are spectacular. It is hard to imagine that someone could have the talent to create the art he has and it is beautiful.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Picture books are typically thought of as "little kid" books, but this one is appealing to all ages. The cover may be deceiving to the reader as it was to me, but once the book is opened, the reader will find himself/herself entralled by what is found. My son loved looking at the pictures, and my husband really enjoyed the artwork and story that this book tells, so I assume that all ages will enjoy this book!
Images courtesy of http://images.google.com.
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