Caldecott Medal: Flotsam by David Wiesner

This book is a true picture book.  The story is told entirely through the illustrations, without words, yet the story is told beautifully clear and crisp.  The story is that of a curious young boy spending the day at the beach.  The illustrations depict through image clues, character traits of the boy.  For example, the opening picture shows the boy investigating a small sand crab creature with his magnifying glass.  Lying next to the boy in his bags of belongings, you see a microscope, binoculars, pails and boxes of various treasures and items he's found on the beach.  Without words, there is a clear understanding of the boys curiosity of nature and things around him.  During his exploration, he comes across a camera that has washed up to shore.  Upon investigation, he discovers it's an underwater camera that has film inside.  Anxiously, he takes the film to be developed, waits patiently for the pictures to come back and delves into the stories that the pictures provide to him.  The pictures show amazing underwater adventures that are unbelievable at times.  However, the last picture shows a picture of a girl holding a picture of another child, who is holding a picture of another child, and so on and so on.  Using his magnifying glass and microscope, he looks closer and closer at these pictures and is taken back through time as each picture reveals a different child from different generations who has found the camera and taken pictures.  The story concludes with the boy taking a picture of himself and then throwing the camera back into the ocean for more adventures. 

This book reminds me of childhood adventures I used to take whether it was at the beach or in my own backyard.  Finding the smallest of creatures and the tiniest pieces of nature all around me gave me hours of enjoyment.  So this book takes me back to those adventures of mine through just the illustrations of the story.  What is unique about this book, is that while the story itself is clear, the emotions and interpretations vary according to the perceptions of the reader.  That is part of its charm and mystique.