Meet the author

Sydney Smith.

Writer & illustrator · Canada · b. 1980

Sydney Smith: Canadian Greenaway-winning picture-book maker (Small in the City, I Talk Like a River, Sidewalk Flowers) — loose, watercolour, emotionally direct picture books for ages 4–8.

Sydney Smith is a Canadian author-illustrator born in Nova Scotia in 1980, one of the most acclaimed contemporary picture-book makers in North American publishing. Best known for Small in the City (which he wrote and illustrated, multiple major prizes), I Talk Like a River (with Jordan Scott, about stuttering), Sidewalk Flowers (with JonArno Lawson) and Town Is by the Sea. Smith's style is loose, watercolour-led and emotionally direct, with a particular gift for depicting children alone in cities and weather. Multiple Greenaway and Governor General's awards. A core contemporary picture-book maker for ages 4–8 in the gentle-emotional-art register.