Sidewalk Flowers
Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Book
A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year
In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter.
"Written" by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
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Winner of the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award
Winner of the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award
Winner of the Booksource Scout Award, Favorite Picture Book
Winner of the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Book Illustration
A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare Selection
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Picture Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Children's Book
A New York Public Library Best 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
A Cybils Award winner, Fiction Picture Book
A USBBY Outstanding International Book
A National Post Best Book of the Year
A NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children Recommended Book
A 49th Shelf Favourite Picture Book of the Year
Finalist for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Book
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year, 2016 "I'd give this book to anyone with a coffee table." -- New York Times "A poignant, wordless storyline . . . this ode to everyday beauty sings sweetly." -- Kirkus, starred review "A reminder that what looks like play can sometimes be a sacrament." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "An emotionally moving, visually delightful ode to the simple powers of observation and empathy. . . . A book to savor slowly and then revisit again and again." -- School Library Journal, starred review "A quiet, graceful book about the perspective-changing wonder of humble, everyday pleasures." -- Booklist, starred review "Sidewalk Flowers is picture-book perfection." -Shelf Awarenss, starred review "This incredibly special wordless picture book explores the way in which accidental flowers, flowers some people even consider weeds, can bring color and brightness to a city world." -- Through the Looking Class Children's Book Reviews, Editor's Choice "Affecting, efficient, moving, kind. Lawson's done the impossible. He wrote poetry into a book without a single word, and you wouldn't have it any other way." -- A Fuse #8 Production
