Flotsam

Picture Book
Title: Flotsam
Author: David Wiesner
Age Level: 4+
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
This picture book is about a boy who finds a washed up Melville underwater camera while he is playing at the beach.  He takes the camera to the photo shop to get the film developed and is amazed at the pictures he finds of robotic fish, octopuses reading books, little aliens riding fish and, most interesting, other children holding pictures of previous children who have found the camera washed up on shore.  Following the tradition, the boy takes a picture holding the other pictures and throws the camera back into the ocean for the next person to come across the treasure.

Opinion
The reason I was so drawn into this book was because it was like no other book I have read.  It is a no-word picture book that is filled with creative and compelling illustrations that tell a story all on their own.  The style of the illustrations in this book are based on impressionism and the unique layout of the illustrations help the reader connect meaning to what is trying to be conveyed through the pictures.  There is no consistency with how the illustrations are shown in this book and I think that that aspect makes this book so visually pleasing.  Some pages are completely covered from end to end with the illustration while others have borders and the most unique pages look like a collection of photographs collaged together.  I think all of these design styles in this book work very well together.  It was a fun experience looking through this book because I, as the reader, was forced to translate each illustration into text and ulitmately determine what I interpret is happening within the story.

I would use this book in my future classroom because I think that it allows students to really be creative and think for themselves while reading.  The book shows how experiences can be passed on from one person to another and I think that children will find this book really appealing and will be able to think of how they can share their experiences in their own lives.  I would have students bring in pictures or souvenirs from a time that was special to them and have them show them to the class.  This will be a great way for them to get to know each other as well as work off the content within this book.