bpad87's review against another edition
5.0
Preschool to third grade.
This wordless picture book takes place on a nice sunny day at a beach. The opening scene shows a little boy digging around with a shovel and a bucket. He is then shown examining a sand flea with a magnifying glass. In releasing the sand flea he looks longingly back at the ocean and goes to dig around some more. He finds a crab and he begins to examine it but he gets knocked over by a wave. As the wave recedes he finds a camera has washed up ashore. He goes and tells his parents that he found it and they take it to the lifeguard and they ask if anyone had lost a camera. Since no one did, the little boy returns to his towel and removes the film from the camera. He runs and takes the film to a one-hour photo, buys a new roll of film, and waits for the pictures to develop. With a look of amazement the little boy sees pictures of robotic fish, seashell cities on a sea turtles back, aliens under the ocean, and even gigantic starfishes bigger than whales. The last picture he sees is a picture of a child holding a picture of another child holding another picture and on and on. He then get the idea to pull out his microscope and zooms in from 10x to 40x and up to70x where the original little boy is standing in an old fashion sepia toned photograph. As his parents begin to pack up and leave, the little boy takes a “selfie” holding the photograph of the children holding photographs and tosses the camera back into the ocean. The camera travels far and wide with the help of sea animals and pelicans until it washes up again on another shore. It is presumed that the cycle will continue. A major strength of this book is the imagination of the fantasy wonders of the ocean. The way that the little boys’ curiosity is shown is also a great strength because one can feel that same curiosity as we try to decipher what the little boy is seeing and what he will do next. One weakness was that the strange photos from under the sea were not explained. It felt like a hole in the story. I would recommend this book for leisure. The illustrator did a great job in making one feel as if we were there alongside the little boy while he was making his discoveries. All of the illustrations were done in watercolor. Some pages were completely covered by the art work, such as the beginning to show the beach setting and the photographs of the mysterious sea creatures. Other pages which the boy was in had panels that transitioned from action-to-action. In 2007 Flotsam was awarded the Caldecott Medal.
This wordless picture book takes place on a nice sunny day at a beach. The opening scene shows a little boy digging around with a shovel and a bucket. He is then shown examining a sand flea with a magnifying glass. In releasing the sand flea he looks longingly back at the ocean and goes to dig around some more. He finds a crab and he begins to examine it but he gets knocked over by a wave. As the wave recedes he finds a camera has washed up ashore. He goes and tells his parents that he found it and they take it to the lifeguard and they ask if anyone had lost a camera. Since no one did, the little boy returns to his towel and removes the film from the camera. He runs and takes the film to a one-hour photo, buys a new roll of film, and waits for the pictures to develop. With a look of amazement the little boy sees pictures of robotic fish, seashell cities on a sea turtles back, aliens under the ocean, and even gigantic starfishes bigger than whales. The last picture he sees is a picture of a child holding a picture of another child holding another picture and on and on. He then get the idea to pull out his microscope and zooms in from 10x to 40x and up to70x where the original little boy is standing in an old fashion sepia toned photograph. As his parents begin to pack up and leave, the little boy takes a “selfie” holding the photograph of the children holding photographs and tosses the camera back into the ocean. The camera travels far and wide with the help of sea animals and pelicans until it washes up again on another shore. It is presumed that the cycle will continue. A major strength of this book is the imagination of the fantasy wonders of the ocean. The way that the little boys’ curiosity is shown is also a great strength because one can feel that same curiosity as we try to decipher what the little boy is seeing and what he will do next. One weakness was that the strange photos from under the sea were not explained. It felt like a hole in the story. I would recommend this book for leisure. The illustrator did a great job in making one feel as if we were there alongside the little boy while he was making his discoveries. All of the illustrations were done in watercolor. Some pages were completely covered by the art work, such as the beginning to show the beach setting and the photographs of the mysterious sea creatures. Other pages which the boy was in had panels that transitioned from action-to-action. In 2007 Flotsam was awarded the Caldecott Medal.
calamitymane's review against another edition
5.0
This is a gorgeous little book full of wonderful and imaginative illustrations. This book reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg's "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" in that the illustrations only give you part of the story. Each photograph gives you a quick glimpse of what is clearly a larger story, larger stories into which I'd be happy to delve much further - under the sea looks like so much fun!!
You really have to look at the illustrations, they are beautifully rendered and include some amusing and interesting little details. Two words: fish bowl!
As much as I loved the the illustrations, I enjoyed the wordless story more. I liked the analog camera, his ingenious way of taking his selfie (I don't know that I'd have thought of that when I was his age), and the sense of impatience waiting for (gasp!) his film to be developed. I liked that the boy was interested in something "nerdy" and loved his little seaside science lab. Ahhh, beachcombing... A child after my own heart.
Truly lovely. Very highly recommended for adults and children alike. My teacher and librarian friends would say that this was also good for guided reading.
You really have to look at the illustrations, they are beautifully rendered and include some amusing and interesting little details. Two words: fish bowl!
As much as I loved the the illustrations, I enjoyed the wordless story more. I liked the analog camera, his ingenious way of taking his selfie (I don't know that I'd have thought of that when I was his age), and the sense of impatience waiting for (gasp!) his film to be developed. I liked that the boy was interested in something "nerdy" and loved his little seaside science lab. Ahhh, beachcombing... A child after my own heart.
Truly lovely. Very highly recommended for adults and children alike. My teacher and librarian friends would say that this was also good for guided reading.
kimberlyjerger's review against another edition
5.0
*5
2007 Caldecott Medal
Flotsam, told exclusively through watercolor illustrations, follows a young boy who stumbles across an underwater camera. After developing the film, the mysteries of the ocean come to life before his eyes, along with a very special picture that warrants a closer look.
With visually spectacular, stunningly realistic illustrations, underscoring a fantastical element, Flotsam is thought-provoking, beautiful, and imaginative.
2007 Caldecott Medal
Flotsam, told exclusively through watercolor illustrations, follows a young boy who stumbles across an underwater camera. After developing the film, the mysteries of the ocean come to life before his eyes, along with a very special picture that warrants a closer look.
With visually spectacular, stunningly realistic illustrations, underscoring a fantastical element, Flotsam is thought-provoking, beautiful, and imaginative.
kwbat12's review against another edition
5.0
No words necessary. The art is incredible and the story line is fabulous. Kids across the world, with a camera.
jkribbit's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
Blown away by this book! No words, just illustrations, but such a rich, adventurous story!! Loved it!!
snowelf's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! This one blew me away. I was feeling completely emotional after "reading" it with my three year old. The pictures are so beautiful and full of detail. The story suggested so ordinary yet so fantastic and amazing. What a magical book. My son is probably on the younger side for this one at three, but I know we will be coming back to it for years. I can recommend for children (and adults) of any age and it can be read at so many levels ...