Book post: Flotsam

Book cover from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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

*Winner of the 2007 Caldecott Medal*

Flotsam is about a boy's discovery of a mysterious underwater camera that washes up on the beach.  The photos that come from the camera shock him as he realizes he is seeing a secret side of sea life, known only by the few who have found the camera before him.  This book would be an excellent way to teach surrealism in the art classroom because the underwater illustrations are fantastical and meticulously detailed.  Surrealism must have unreal elements to realistic paintings, and this book does that wonderfully with its mechanical fish, reading octopus, and more.  The illustrations are all able to stand as artwork on their own because the book is also entirely wordless.  I loved that this meant I was able to experience the boy's wonder in examining the photos silently along with him.