David Wiesner is the master of the wordless story. Besides the beauty of his work, he creates one surprise after another in his books. Some of his concepts are loosely tied to the story, but they are fabulous, detailed stories within the story. The robotic fish is a story begging to be told, and the picture within a picture is an excellent variation of the message in a bottle theme.

I think Flotsam is now my favorite of David Wiesner's books. An inquisitive boy finds an underwater camera washed up on the beach. He immediately has the film developed and finds evidence of a wondrous underwater world. Looking closer he sees that many people (from various places and even through time) have shared the discovery through the camera.

There is no text, and yet the more you look at the amazing illustrations, the deeper you are drawn into the story. Little ones especially will see something new every time they open the book.
RL=toddler & up, all ages