Caldecott Medal Winner #1 / Flotsam

David Wiesner's 2007 children's book Flotsam is a wonderful selection. When I first opened Flotsam, I'm not sure that I knew what I expected. Up to this point, I have not really exposed myself to a lot of children's literature; I do not have children myself, and I do not come across many opportunities to share children's literature with other friends' children. So, when I went to the local library to choose my Caldecott and Newbery winners, I really did not have anything to guide me other than basic intuition.

I chose Flotsam because of the title; I thought it was a "sophisticated" title for a children's book. If and when a child chooses to read this book, he or she has an automatic opportunity to increase his or her vocabulary. Overall, the book impressed me as not only a children's book, but also as a philosophical piece of literature. Flotsam is a picture book, telling the story of an underwater camera that washes up on shore. A young boy finds the camera and develops the film, finding a wonderous world that exists underwater that no one knows about, and he also finds a photograph of someone holding a photograph, holding a photograph, etc. He gets a microscope and sees that this tradition has been going on for years, so he takes his own picture holding the picture and send the camera back out into the sea.

This book appeals to my love of photography; I have always been amazed how the simple art of "taking a picture" can capture a moment or memory and help it exist for a lifetime. Appropriately, the "pictures" and images in Wiesner's book are wonderful; the pictures range from realistic images of the boy and his world to the fantastical images of underwater worlds. Also, I am fascinated by the intense philosophical possibilities with this children's book. If I did have children, I would use this book as an opportunity to share how we, as human beings, are part of something much bigger. Life has existed before us, and life will exist after us.

I am extremely impressed by David Wiesner's Flotsam; I would recommend it to anyone. I have never read a children's book like this one, and I hope that, over the course of this class, I run across other books that impress me as much as this one has.

Wiesner has also won two other Caldecott Medals for Tuesday and The Three Pigs and two Caldecott Honors for Sector 7 and Free Fall (Wiesner, 2006).


Nate Smith


Resource:

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