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.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
Author Bio
JONARNO LAWSON is the author of numerous books for children and adults, including The Playgrounds of Babel, illustrated by Piet Grobler, and Leap!, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon. He has also collaborated on books with Nelson Ball, Alec Dempster, Nahid Kazemi, Amjad Jaimoukha, Qin Leng, Daniel Ratthei and Sherwin Tjia. His most recent book is Wise Up! Wise Down!, a collaboration with the poet John Agard, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. JonArno lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his family.
SYDNEY SMITH is the creator of Small in the City, which received the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Other books he has illustrated include The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart; Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson; and Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, which received the Kate Greenaway Medal. His other accolades include two Governor General’s Awards and four New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year citations. He is also the illustrator of I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, which received the Schneider Family Book Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and My Baba’s Garden, also written by Jordan Scott. Sydney lives with his family in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Prizes
- Andersen Prize — Best Book With No WordsShort-listed 2021
- A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the YearCommended 2016
- New York Public Library Best 100 Books for Reading and SharingCommended 2015
- Globe 100 Best BooksCommended 2015
- Michigan Library Association Mitten AwardWinner 2016
- Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book AwardWinner 2016
- Cybils Award, Fiction Picture BookWinner 2015
- Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated BooksWinner 2015
- USBBY Outstanding International BooksCommended 2016
- Marilyn Baillie Picture Book AwardShort-listed 2016
- Booksource Scout Award, Favorite Picture BookWinner 2015
- ALA Notable Children's BookCommended 2016
- Publishers Weekly Best Books of the YearCommended 2015
- NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, Recommended BookCommended 2015
- IBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with DisabilitiesCommended 2017
- TD Summer Reading Club Top Recommended ReadsCommended 2016
- New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the YearCommended 2015
- 49th Shelf Favourite Picture Books of the YearCommended 2015
- Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture BookLong-listed 2015
- National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Book IllustrationWinner 2016
- School Library Journal Best Picture Books of the YearCommended 2015
- National Post Best Books of the YearCommended 2015
- Horn Book FanfareCommended 2015
- Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's AwardWinner 2016
- CILIP Kate Greenaway MedalShort-listed 2016
- Kirkus Best Picture Books of the YearCommended 2015
Review Quotes
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 Blog