Small in the City by Sydney Smith
In only 37 pages and a handful of sentences, Small in the City (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House) broke my heart and put it back together again. Yes, I actually teared up from a picture book. And yes, it was in the middle of the office.
Sydney Smith, the writer and illustrator, uses only “ink, watercolor and a bit of gouache” to depict a journey through a snowy city. A little child, probably younger than ten, squeezes through crowds of distracted adults, nose red from the cold, the bus windows frosty and blurred. Along the way, there’s advice about how to make it in a big city when “people don’t see you and loud sounds can scare you.”
But who exactly is that advice being given to? And why is such a small child out all alone? Various scenarios entered my mind, but the end reveal kept me guessing until the very last page.
The pacing is slow as if I were trudging through the snow, too. The artwork zooms in on faces, flashes of light and the reflection of pink clouds in the windows of a skyscraper. We see every detail as a child would see it. Some are beautiful, almost hidden to the people rushing past. Others cause anxiety like construction work or dark alleys.
But we are cheered on: “I know you. You’ll be all right.” I got the sense that the narrator is trying to gather courage as well. On one page, we are shown three big dogs fenced in a yard and are told, “I would avoid the place … if I were you.” But the child walks right past them despite any fear, clearly on a mission.
Children learn that sticking to a plan, despite the obstacles, is ultimately worthwhile. They learn to reframe loneliness into action: Instead of hiding away, the child went out into the cold and put up flyers to help find a lost friend, ultimately making it through the city safely.
No wonder Smith’s story is so poignant. The artist has won three successive New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year awards for his work on Sidewalk Flowers, The White Cat and the Monk and Town Is By the Sea.
Simultaneously a mystery and an exploration of what it’s like to be a kid in a hectic world, Small in the City won’t let you go from the first page to the very last.
Small in the City will be available on September 3.
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