Small in the City

Product Information

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SMALL IN THE CITY | Kirkus Reviews SMALL IN THE CITY | Kirkus Reviews

In 2021, the judging panel includes 15 volunteer judges from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group. Find out more about this year’s judges here. Small in the Cityis an evocative and immersive book which tells quite an ordinary story in such an extraordinary way that it surprises you. It conveys just how it feels to be small in an over-powering city. It’s understated whilst also managing to build to a moving emotional end with the themes of being lost, alone, and overlooked, taking on a much wider resonance. It’s a striking and atmospheric example of artistic storytelling skills which is almost cinematic in its depiction of a child’s view of an imposing urban landscape.This is practically a wordless book. I love the artwork; it's gritty and rough and towering and it brings up feelings of being Small in New York. It's a great bit of art. There is beauty in the harsh lines. 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!

SMALL IN THE CITY by Sydney Smith - Picture Book Builders SMALL IN THE CITY by Sydney Smith - Picture Book Builders

This is the first Carnegie Medal win for US poet and author Jason Reynolds – who is the US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature – following a shortlisting in 2019 for Long Way Down. Look Both Ways (Knights Of) is a collection of 10 standalone but intertwined, interconnecting stories chronicling the 15 minutes of unsupervised independence of the walk home from school. The judges called it a “breathtakingly gripping”, “innocent tale which covers hard hitting issues including bullying, homophobia and bereavement” that “challenges the reader to see differently in an engaging and fresh way.” The city seems overpowering, dense, busy, chaotic. Smith’s use of a mixture of big and small, framed and unframed images makes us see and feel how it is to be small in such an overwhelming environment. For example, she informs her unseen listener that “people don’t see you and loud sounds can scare you”. Looking for something a little different for an imaginative child who likes art? Look no further. - The Irish Independent, Children's Books of the Year Four year old Charlie was too frightened by the illustrations to finish it, even when guided by his mother. He spent little time looking at the illustrations, and couldn’t relate to the text when it was read to him.What is the most significant change you have seen within your work as your career has progressed? Did it surprise you? Every single town and city in USA has its own flavor. Each one presents a microcosm of community and character to the world, based on innumerable factors, with location, history and heritage all playing some of the most essential roles. When this balance of factors is just right, you get a uniquely charming place that can offer something to the visitor that’s well worth traveling for. But the United States has thousands of cities.