Flotsam by David Wiesner

Flotsam is a wordless picture book that I found to be quite enjoyable. Admittedly, I usually don't really like wordless books and I tend to find them tedious, boring, and without a real narrative. However, Flotsam is probably my favorite wordless picture book I've ever read. The storyline has a very mysterious vibe to it and it immediately reminded me of a Chris Van Allsburg book. For example, the narrative revolves around an underwater camera that washes ashore on more than one occasion. The illustrations of landscapes such as the beach and ocean are extremely realistic and rich looking. The illustrations in the book really help to put the reader in the story and are very engaging. Also, the illustrations are extremely surreal. For example, there are mechanical fishes, domesticated octopi, partying aliens, and gigantic star fish. Finally, there is a very strange theme throughout the book of a picture within a picture that further lends the book a mysterious and strange feeling. In summary, I enjoyed the illustrations of this wordless picture book and thought the narrative was interesting enough to follow without any text.