Sydney Smith has pulled off quite a trick with his latest book, the first that he has both illustrated and written. Small in the City is a short and deceptively simple book, that does not prepare you in advance for the emotional ride you will find yourself on.
The story, which won the Governor General’s Literary Award for illustrated children’s book (and his second win in the category after Sidewalk Flowers, 2015), is an exercise in subtlety and gentle narrative, and made this reader tear up in a public coffee shop.
The opening panels are beautifully rendered images of the shadows of people through the sleet covered glass of a bus window. The voice of the child who disembarks and wanders the streets of what appears to be Toronto, is clear and mysterious at the same time. We are gifted with wonderful descriptions and haunting images of a city in winter, the details of the impact that a city can have on a small being are delivered with grace and stark language.
Through the story the reader is given ever deepening hints as to the nature of the journey. As with many good children’s stories I found myself rereading several lines as the context and subject seemed to shift and I thought I was missing something. Then, following a few hints, we are presented with the image of a lost cat on a poster being taped to a pole, and we see the journey for what it is. The child’s voice almost seems to be reassuring us, as well as themselves, that the cat being spoken to is going to be ok and will find their way home.
The images Smith has given us are rich and full of symbols. Red appears like a beacon among the grey sleet and snow of a city winter storm, almost soft flares marking the path. The artist goes back and forth from clearer drawings to rougher shadows obscured by driving snow and the dim light of the season. The image of the mother, waiting in the snow, the child’s deep confidence in the cat’s return and the final image of tiny paw prints in the snow, will pull at the hearts of those reading and those being read to. There will be questions, and the space between what is told and what is known will remain a thing of lasting beauty between reader and listener. That, for me, is where the magic of Smith’s books lies, and where it will last a great while.
The interview below was conducted over several days over in November 2019.
JTG: You have illustrated several books previously – how did writing your own narrative change how the whole process worked for you? How did it affect the illustrations?
SS: The reason why I decided to write my own book was to create story that couldn’t be told solely in the text or in the illustrations. So often, when the text is written by a separate author it is complete by the time it is given to the illustrator. I knew that I needed to write a book in order to see the dynamic I wanted. I am an illustrator and so the writing process started with drawings. I need to visualize the mood before I know what words I can bring to the story. I imagine that is opposite to how many books are made.
JTG: What significance was the color red in your illustrations. The stark and cold feeling of the drawings were scattered with images of red objects that felt almost like totems or markers in the grey. It was subtle yet striking.
SS: The red at first, is stop lights and brake lights in the city, which I found added anxiety to the busy street images. At the end, the red is in the bushes beside the front door. The red acts as a location reference for the last image, helping the reader understand what is happening and, in my mind, representing home. I had a particularly luminous orange paint that really erupted from the page.
Unfortunately, the scanning and printing of the images didn’t do the vibrancy justice.
JTG: What has been the immediate impact for you today with winning the award?
SS: The day I learned I had received the Governor General’s Award was a difficult one leading up to the phone call. I had gone through all the stages of accepting it wasn’t happening. I put myself through a mini-torture before giving in, and then my phone rang. I think it was so important to me because it validates my ability as a creator without a collaborative partner, or author. I love working with others but there is always a small part of me that wanted to know if could go the distance by myself.
JTG: Whose work has influenced you as both a writer and illustrator of children’s books.
SS: Growing up I was and still am an Edward Gorey fan. Calvin and Hobbes was a huge part of my early childhood. Presently, I love the work of Linda Barry, the beautiful design on Bruno Munari and Ben Shahn. We also owe much to Maurice Sendak, the Provensens, Tomi Ungerer, William Steig, and Tove Jansson.
Small in the City is available in all major and independent bookstores around the country. It is published by Groundwood Books from House of Anansi Press.