Sydney Smith (illustrator)

Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith
Born	Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Notable work	Sidewalk Flowers; Town Is by the Sea; Small in the City;
Awards	Governor General's Award 2015; CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018, 2021; Hans Christian Andersen award 2024;

Sydney Smith is a Canadian illustrator of children's books. He is the 2024 recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his "lasting contribution to children's literature".^[1] He earlier won the 2015 Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration for Sidewalk Flowers, a wordless picture book which he illustrated with author JonArno Lawson. He currently resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[2]

Education

Smith studied drawing and printmaking at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[3] It was while studying there that he realized his interest for illustrating children's books.

Career

Most of his work is illustrations for other authors. Smith's first three assignments were for re-issues of books by Sheree Fitch. To date he has authored and illustrated two titles, 2019's Small in the City and 2023's Do You Remember? He has worked for two different publishing houses in his career as an illustrator: Nimbus Publishing and Groundwood Books. In addition to his work as an illustrator and author, Smith has also done graphic design work for Canadian musical acts Hey Rosetta! and Old Man Luedecke.^[4]

Published works

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
2020: I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott
2023: Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith
2023: My Baba's Garden by Jordan Scott

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Book	Result
2015	Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration^[5]	Music Is For Everyone	Won
2015	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration^[6]	Sidewalk Flowers	Won
2015	Prix Libbylit for Best Picture Book (Belgium)^[7]	Sidewalk Flowers	Won
2015	New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year^[8]	Sidewalk Flowers	Won
2015	Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year^[9]	Sidewalk Flowers	Won
2015	Goodreads Choice Awards Best Picture Books^[10]	Sidewalk Flowers	Nominated
2016	Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award^[11]	Sidewalk Flowers	Won
2018	CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal^[12]	Town Is by the Sea	Won
2018	TD Canadian Children's Literature Award^[13]	Town Is by the Sea	Won
2021	Kate Greenaway Medal^[14]^[15]	Small in the City	Won
2024	Hans Christian Andersen Award^[1]		Won
2024	Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration^[16]	Do You Remember?	Pending

References

^ ^a ^b "Canadian illustrator Sydney Smith wins prestigious children's book prize, Hans Christian Andersen Award". CBC Books, April 8, 2024.
^ "About".
^ "Q and A Sidewalk Flowers illustrator Sydney Smith". Quill and Quire. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Q and A Sidewalk Flowers illustrator Sydney Smith". Quill and Quire. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration". The Canadian Children's Book Centre. 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Prix Libbylit". Ricochet Jeune. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Sidewalk Flowers wins CLA's 2016 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award". Canadian Library Association. 15 April 2016.
^ "PW: Geraldine McCaughrean, Sydney Smith Win 2018 Carnegie, Greenaway Medals". Publishers Weekly. 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
^ "Best Canadian children's book of 2018? It just won a $50,000 prize". thestar. 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
^ Flood, Alison (16 June 2021). "Jason Reynolds wins Carnegie medal for 'breathtaking' Look Both Ways". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^ "Reynolds, Smith win 2021 Carnegie, Greenaway medals". Books+Publishing. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^ Cassandra Drudi, "Canisia Lubrin, Danny Ramadan among 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award finalists". Quill & Quire, October 8, 2024.

[HCA-1] "Canadian illustrator Sydney Smith wins prestigious children's book prize, Hans Christian Andersen Award". CBC Books, April 8, 2024.

[2] "About".

[3] "Q and A Sidewalk Flowers illustrator Sydney Smith". Quill and Quire. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[4] "Q and A Sidewalk Flowers illustrator Sydney Smith". Quill and Quire. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[5] "Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration". The Canadian Children's Book Centre. 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[6] "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[7] "Prix Libbylit". Ricochet Jeune. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[8] "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[9] "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[10] "Sidewalk Flowers - Anansi Press". Anansi Press. 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.

[11] "Sidewalk Flowers wins CLA's 2016 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award". Canadian Library Association. 15 April 2016.

[12] "PW: Geraldine McCaughrean, Sydney Smith Win 2018 Carnegie, Greenaway Medals". Publishers Weekly. 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

[13] "Best Canadian children's book of 2018? It just won a $50,000 prize". thestar. 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.

[:3-14] Flood, Alison (16 June 2021). "Jason Reynolds wins Carnegie medal for 'breathtaking' Look Both Ways". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

[:2-15] "Reynolds, Smith win 2021 Carnegie, Greenaway medals". Books+Publishing. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

[16] Cassandra Drudi, "Canisia Lubrin, Danny Ramadan among 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award finalists". Quill & Quire, October 8, 2024.

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v t e Winners of the Governor General's Award for young people's literature — illustrated books
1980s	Marie-Louise Gay, Rainy Day Magic (1987) Kim LaFave, Amos's Sweater (1988) Robin Muller, The Magic Paintbrush (1989)
1990s	Paul Morin, The Orphan Boy (1990) Joanne Fitzgerald, Doctor Kiss Says Yes (1991) Ron Lightburn, Waiting for the Whales (1992) Mireille Levert, Sleep Tight, Mrs. Ming (1993) Murray Kimber, Josepha: A Prairie Boy's Story (1994) Ludmila Zeman, The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (1995) Eric Beddows, The Rooster's Gift (1996) Barbara Reid, The Party (1997) Kady MacDonald Denton, A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes (1998) Gary Clement, The Great Poochini (1999)
2000s	Marie-Louise Gay, Yuck, A Love Story (2000) Mireille Levert, An Island in the Soup (2001) Wallace Edwards, Alphabeasts (2002) Allen Sapp, The Song Within My Heart (2003) Stéphane Jorisch, Jabberwocky (2004) Rob Gonsalves, Imagine a Day (2005) Leo Yerxa, Ancient Thunder (2006) Duncan Weller, The Boy from the Sun (2007) Stéphane Jorisch, The Owl and the Pussycat (2008) Jirina Marton, Bella's Tree (2009)
2010s	Jon Klassen, Cats' Night Out (2010) Cybèle Young, Ten Birds (2011) Isabelle Arsenault, Virginia Wolf (2012) Matt James, Northwest Passage (2013) Jillian Tamaki, This One Summer (2014) JonArno Lawson, Sidewalk Flowers (2015) Jon-Erik Lappano and Kellen Hatanaka, Tokyo Digs a Garden (2016) David Robertson and Julie Flett, When We Were Alone (2017) Jillian Tamaki, They Say Blue (2018) Sydney Smith, Small in the City (2019)
2020s	The Fan Brothers, The Barnabus Project (2020) David A. Robertson and Julie Flett, On the Trapline (2021) Naseem Hrab and Nahid Kazemi, The Sour Cherry Tree (2022) Jack Wong, When You Can Swim (2023)