Caldecott Book 2

The second book I read was Flotsam by David Wiesner. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2007.

Flotsam is something that floats, and in this case it is anything that floats in the ocean. This book is about a little boy who spends his day at the beach. While looking at a crab, a big wave comes ashore and knocks him down. When the wave pulls back, he can see that an old camera had washed up on the beach. He took the film and had it developed. The pictures turn out to be real treasures!

I really liked Flotsam for several reasons. First, the illustrations tell the story. When I first realized that there were no words, I thought that the book really couldn't be that great. However, I didn't even miss the words. The story was so complete through the illustrations. I forgot there wasn't even any text. It is a nice change to look at a book with a series of beautiful illustrations and to be able to feel like you completely understand the story. Another reason I really liked Flotsam was because I immediately thought of several lessons I could do with my students. I thought it would be really interesting to have my students be the authors by coming up with the text to go along with the illustrations.

My reaction to this book is mainly based on my love for children's literature. I particularly loved the main character in the story. He had so many great qualities that I would love for my students to see. I loved that the boy was so curious! He came to the beach with a microscope!!! Instead of building sandcastles and playing in the water, this boy was looking closely at the wildlife and his new discovery: the old camera. He developed the film from the old camera and carefully examined each picture. One picture was of a girl holding a picture of a boy, who was holding a picture of another boy, who was holding a picture of another girl, and so on. The boy in the story first looked at the picture with a magnifying glass, and then with his microscope. He finally found the first boy, who was dressed in early 1900's clothing. I absolutely loved that the boy in the story continued the trend and took a picture of himself holding the picture. The boy also showed that he was selfless. Instead of keeping this rare, old, treasure of a camera, he threw it back into the ocean for someone new to discover!

Another book of David Wiesner's that I have read is Tuesday. I absolutely loved this book when I was a child, and with good reason. Both of these books are silent stories that allow the reader's imagination to run wild. Flotsam and Tuesday compare and contrast in several ways. They are similar in that they are silent stories, and both contain some science fiction / fantasy elements. However, their differences are what I love the most. Tuesday is so different because it is so random and unexpected! The lillypads levitate out of a pond on a random Tuesday, and the events unfold. I love the expression on the face of the man eating a sandwich. I would have had the exact same expression!

A new insight that I gained from this book is that great children's literature can be wordless! A series of illustrations can still tell a beautiful story. I guess the saying, "A picture's worth a thousand words," is really true.