Sydney Smith (illustrator) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sydney Smith
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Canada
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| Nationality | Canadian |
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Sydney Smith is a talented Canadian artist who creates amazing pictures for children's books. He is known for his beautiful illustrations that tell stories.
In 2024, Sydney Smith won the important Hans Christian Andersen Award. This award is like a Nobel Prize for children's literature. He received it for making a "lasting contribution to children's literature," which means his books will be loved for a very long time.
He also won the Governor General's Award in 2015. This was for his illustrations in the book Sidewalk Flowers. This book is special because it's a wordless picture book. This means it tells a story mostly through pictures, with very few or no words. He worked on Sidewalk Flowers with author JonArno Lawson. Sydney Smith lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Contents
Learning to Illustrate
Sydney Smith went to NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There, he studied how to draw and make prints. While he was learning, he discovered how much he loved creating pictures for children's books. This is where his journey as an illustrator truly began!
Sydney Smith's Career
Most of Sydney Smith's work involves drawing pictures for books written by other authors. His very first jobs were to create new illustrations for books by Sheree Fitch.
Sydney Smith has also written and illustrated two of his own books. These are Small in the City (published in 2019) and Do You Remember? (published in 2023). He has worked with two different publishing companies: Nimbus Publishing and Groundwood Books. Besides illustrating books, Sydney Smith has also done graphic design. He created artwork for Canadian music groups like Hey Rosetta! and Old Man Luedecke.
Books with Sydney Smith's Art
Here are some of the books Sydney Smith has illustrated or written:
- 2010: Mabel Murple by Sheree Fitch
- 2011: There Were Monkeys In My Kitchen by Sheree Fitch
- 2012: Toes In My Nose: And Other Poems by Sheree Fitch
- 2014: Jewel of the Thames (A Portia Adams Adventure Book 1) by Angela Misri
- 2014: Music Is For Everyone by Jill Barber
- 2015: Grant and Tillie Go Walking by Monica Kulling
- 2015: Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson
- 2016: Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts by Esta Spalding
- 2016: The White Cat and the Monk: A Retelling of the Poem "Pangur Bán" by Jo Ellen Bogart
- 2017: Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz
- 2019: Small in the City by Sydney Smith (he wrote and illustrated this one!)
- 2020: I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott
- 2023: Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith (he wrote and illustrated this one too!)
- 2023: My Baba's Garden by Jordan Scott
Awards and Special Recognition
Sydney Smith has won many awards for his amazing illustrations. Here are some of them:
| Year | Award | Book | Result |
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| 2015 | Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration | Music Is For Everyone | Won |
| 2015 | Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration | Sidewalk Flowers | Won |
| 2015 | Prix Libbylit for Best Picture Book (Belgium) | Sidewalk Flowers | Won |
| 2015 | New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year | Sidewalk Flowers | Won |
| 2015 | Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year | Sidewalk Flowers | Won |
| 2015 | Goodreads Choice Awards Best Picture Books | Sidewalk Flowers | Nominated |
| 2016 | Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award | Sidewalk Flowers | Won |
| 2018 | CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal | Town Is by the Sea | Won |
| 2018 | TD Canadian Children's Literature Award | Town Is by the Sea | Won |
| 2021 | Kate Greenaway Medal | Small in the City | Won |
| 2024 | Hans Christian Andersen Award | Won | |
| 2024 | Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration | Do You Remember? | Pending |
