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February 27th 2021
Sydney Smith is an award-winning illustrator of picture books and now author of his first picture book Small in the City. He was the winner of the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustration of Town by the Sea, and Small in the City has now been longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2021.
Sydney tells us more about his inspiration for the book below.
Q: Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the story? Where did the idea come from and how did you develop it from that initial spark into a fully realised picture book?
A: I wanted to write a story set in my own neighbourhood in the city of Toronto. The atmosphere of the city snowstorm came first and the idea of incorporating a twist to include a lost cat came later. I am not from Toronto originally and I had felt the oppressive size of the city daily but eventually I learned the streets and the neighbourhoods and grew to love the feeling of being small in the city.
Q: This is the first picture book you have created as both author and illustrator. How did you find the experience of crafting the words and the pictures, and how was that a different experience from illustrating someone else’s story?
A: I enjoy illustrating with text written by someone else. There can be amazing results that would never have occurred otherwise. Writing for yourself is not something I was used to and had trouble knowing exactly what it was I was trying to say and how I wanted to say it. Was I writing a funny story? was I writing a fantasy story or was it a sad story. I tried everything out and what you see is what fit best.
Illustrating others is like problem solving. How do you elevate the words and make them mean so much more? When the words are your own then there is an option to edit or change the words too and then it's like 3D chess.
I wont say I prefer one over the other but it does feel more stressful when it's all you; text and image.
Q: The storytelling in this book is beautifully balanced between the textual and the visual, and some of the most powerful moments occur on pages with no words at all. How do you decide where to narrate, and where to let the illustrations speak for themselves?
A: One of the objectives for this book was to create something that relied on the text and image equally. Hearing the words is not enough and seeing just the illustrations wouldn't give you a proper idea either. As an illustrator, one wields a power to punctuate a moment with silence. Controlling the silence in the room in which the book is read and to leave a moment for interpretation can allow the words to resonate. The words in this book are the voice of the character. Every word needed to project what they wanted you to hear and how they wanted to sound until their emotions betrayed them.
Q: What do you hope that readers will take away from reading Small in the City?
A: I think Small in the City is an exercise in empathy and projection. Many readers have felt loss and will again in the future. This book is a safe place to identify what loss can look like and feel like. The final words, "I know you, you will be alright." is for everyone and anyone that needs to hear it.
Q: Have you had a chance to share the book with children, and if so, how have they responded?
A: I enjoy sharing this with children. Like most of my books, when it is over, there is a bit of a silence, and then a few questions about the cat. I love hearing the moment of the switch in their minds. Followed by a "OOOOOOOh, I get it". When the book changes from universal to personal and the "you" changes from being the reader to the cat. It's a bit of a challenging book but I haven't met a child who wasn't up for the challenge and the reward and satisfaction of deciphering a puzzle. Even if there is no clear resolution.
Small in the City is available now.
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