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list price: $16.95
category: Children's Fiction
published: March 2015
ISBN:9781554984312
publisher:
Groundwood Books Ltd
list price: $16.95
category: Children's Fiction
published: March 2015
ISBN:9781554984312
publisher:
Groundwood Books Ltd
Description
Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Book
A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year
In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter.
“Written” by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.
Contributor Notes
JonArno Lawson’s internationally acclaimed picture book Sidewalk Flowers won the Governor General’s Literary Award and was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book, among many other accolades. He is a four-time winner of the Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Children’s Poetry and the author of numerous books for children and adults. JonArno lives in Toronto with his wife and three children.
Sydney Smith was born in rural Nova Scotia and has been drawing from an early age. Since graduating from NSCAD University, he has illustrated numerous children’s books, including the highly acclaimed wordless picture book Sidewalk Flowers, conceived by Jon Arno Lawson, which won a Governor General’s Award, among many other honours, and was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book. He is also the illustrator of Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, and which won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Prize. Small in the City is the first picture book that Sydney has written as well as illustrated. He lives and works in Toronto with his wife and son.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 4 to 7
- Grade:
- p to 2
- Reading age:
- 4 to 7
Awards
- Commended, IBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities
- Short-listed, CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
- Commended, A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
- Winner, Michigan Library Association Mitten Award
- Winner, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award
- Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Books
- Commended, ALA Notable Children's Book
- Winner, Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award
- Commended, TD Summer Reading Club Top Recommended Reads
- Short-listed, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
- Winner, National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Book Illustration
- Commended, School Library Journal Best Picture Books of the Year
- Long-listed, Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Book
- Winner, Cybils Award, Fiction Picture Book
- Commended, Horn Book Fanfare
- Commended, Kirkus Best Picture Books of the Year
- Commended, Globe 100 Best Books
- Commended, 49th Shelf Favourite Picture Books of the Year
- Commended, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
- Commended, NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, Recommended Book
- Commended, New York Public Library Best 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
- Commended, National Post Best Books of the Year
- Commended, New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year
- Winner, Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Books
- Winner, Booksource Scout Award, Favorite Picture Book
Editorial Reviews
A poignant, wordless storyline . . . this ode to everyday beauty sings sweetly.
— Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
A reminder that what looks like play can sometimes be a sacrament.
— Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
I’d give this book to anyone with a coffee table, in a household with or without children.
— New York Times
A quiet, graceful book about the perspective-changing wonder of humble, everyday pleasures.
— Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
An emotionally moving, visually delightful ode to the simple powers of observation and empathy. . . . A book to savor slowly and then revisit again and again.
— School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Sidewalk Flowers wraps readers in kindness, tenderness, generosity and wonder.
— Quill & Quire, STARRED REVIEW
Affecting, efficient, moving, kind. Lawson’s done the impossible. He wrote poetry into a book without a single word, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
— A Fuse #8 Production
