Flotsam tells the story of a scientifically inquisitive young boy at the beach. After examining a crab under a magnifying glass, he wanders down to the sea edge to see what else there is to look at, and is bowled over by a wave. Among the flotsam washed up is an old-fashioned, waterproof camera. When the boy takes the film to be developed he discovers an underwater world he’d never imagined, and a photo of another child, holding a photo of a child holding a photo… when he puts the picture under a microscope he can see pictures right back to the turn of the nineteenth century.
The story line is creative, but what sets Flotsam apart is the quality of the illustrations – wholly without words Weisner, in beautifully detailed and imaginative drawings, conveys a range of emotions (the sequence where the boy waits impatiently for the photos to be developed articulates a combination of boredom, anticipation and impatience more articulately than words could), scientific curiosity rewarded, and the scenarios he portrays are fantastic. From a school of fish, where one is mechanical clockwork, to giant walking islands of starfish, from storytime in a sqid family’s living room to tiny alien explorers, the level of detail and uniqueness means that Flotsam is fresh however often it’s encountered.
We don’t usually review picture books, but Weisner’s work is exceptional – I have every one of his hard-to-source-in-Australia books – and Flotsam was such a hit with my three-year-old niece that I felt compelled to include it here. - Alex
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