"Flotsam" by David Wiesner was the 2007 recipient of the Caldecott Medal. "Flotsam" was similar to Wiesner's other book, "The Three Pigs", in that the story is a visual one. While "The Three Pigs" did contain words, "Flotsam" does not. Other than 28 words on the front flap of the book, there are no actual words at all. It is richly drawn--and his illustrations are quite apt. They do tell the story.
Like "The Three Pigs", this is a book that I can imagine a child wanting "alone time" with. It would be excellent for a struggling reader. It could engage him or her in the story and get interested in books, as a starting point on literature. It would also be appropriate for a beginning reader, or for anyone who enjoys the visual aspect of storytelling.
It is an imaginative story about a boy who finds something incredible along the shore. What he finds he must give back, so that another child can use it and then give it back and so on. It's the story of a kind of childhood reciprocity that extends to generations. There is something really beautiful about that idea.
It reminded me of childhood, of summer vacations along the milky beaches of Charleston, South Carolina, playing along the shore with my family.
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