Small in the City

Product Information

When you’re small in the city, people don’t see you, and loud sounds can scare you, and knowing what to do is sometimes hard. But this little kid knows what it’s like, and knows the neighborhood. And a little friendly advice can go a long way. When you read lots of picture books, as we do around here, you can get a little jaded. Some make me laugh. A few make me tear up. But rarely do I feel surprised, as in “Whoa, I didn’t see that coming.”

The Girl and the Dinosaur - Stoke Mandeville Combined School

Edward Gorey was a master of ambiguity in the way he combined his text and the way he framed his images. Implying a gruesome death or a hideous crime is so much more impactful than just showing it. The darkness of his stories was also quite thrilling. Obviously, he wrote for himself. It must have created problems for his publishers when his mysteries were too gruesome to be marketed to children, but he answered to his own mind and the results were innovative and singular. A challenge can also drive you as an artist. What do you foresee as the next approach that may provide a creative risk for you?In Look Both Ways I wanted to explore who it is that children are when the watchful eye of adults aren’t around. So often, children’s literature takes place either at school or at home but there’s an in-between that is the journey home. And even though they all sit in the classroom together, when that bell rings they go separate ways and go through separate things, as we all go through separate journeys in life, that influence and impact who it is that we are when we show up the following day. But the miracle of life is the idea that if we were to trust this process, believe in the power of humanity and speak to one another, no matter who you are or where you are from, all over the world there is a good chance that if we speak to each other long enough, we will probably have someone in common and that’s important, because it’s really difficult to hate someone when the two of you love the same person. As the girl (or boy—it could be either) makes her way through dark and sometimes foreboding scenes, she describes the people “who don’t see you,” and the disorienting sights and sounds of the city.

Kids Book Read Aloud

The weather steadily worsens. The child almost disappears in the blizzard. Our hearts are in our mouths. It's as if you are among giants, animate and inanimate, wandering with obstructed views except for familiar areas at your level, your line of sight. Small In The City (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House Books, September 3, 2019) written and illustrated by Sydney Smith follows a small child on a mission. Through his voice we are given a very personal perspective.A child braves strange streets in search of a mysterious someone in this gorgeous story about love and loss.”— People Magazine Nine year old Iona amd her eleven year old brother thought at first it was about a homeless or refugee girl, or perhaps a lost child. Iona said the illustrations made her feel really sad and they were just right for the story. When she was told what the story was really about she was intrigued and really interested to find the ‘clues’. She was so happy when the ‘girl and her mother’ were re-united, as she thought. Children love a happy ending!