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책 내용

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. 20151105_08_01.jpg 20151105_08_02.jpg 20151105_08_03.jpg 20151105_08_04.jpg 20151105_08_05.jpg

출판사 보도자료

From School Library Journal K-Gr 3—An emotionally moving, visually delightful ode to the simple powers of observation and empathy. A young girl and her father walk home from the grocery store through busy city streets in this wordless picture book. Along the way, Dad is preoccupied—talking on his cell phone, moving with purpose, eyes forward—while his daughter, a bright spot of red in a mostly black-and-white world, gazes with curiosity at the sights around her. In graphic novel-style panels, readers see what she sees: colorful weeds and wildflowers springing up from cracks in the pavement. She begins to collect these 'sidewalk flowers' as they make their way past shops, across bustling avenues, and through a city park. Halfway through their journey, the little girl surreptitiously begins giving pieces of her bouquet away: a dandelion and some daffodils to a dead bird on a pathway a sprig of lilac to an older man sleeping on a bench daisies in the hair of her mother and siblings. With each not-so-random act of kindness, the scenes fill with more and more color, until the pen-and-ink drawings are awash in watercolor, her world now fully alive and vibrant. With pitch-perfect visual pacing, the narrative unfolds slowly, matched by the protagonist"s own leisurely appreciation of her environment. Smith expertly varies perspective, switching from bird"s-eye view to tightly focused close-ups. The panel format is used exquisitely the individual choices are purposeful, and the spaces between panels effectively move the story. VERDICT This is a book to savor slowly and then revisit again and again.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal Review Winner of the Governor General"s Literary Award for Children"s Illustrated Books A New York Times Best Illustrated Children"s Book of the Year '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 Reviews, 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 '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

일러스트레이터 소개

was born in rural Nova Scotia, and has been drawing since an early age. Since graduating from NSCAD University, he has illustrated multiple children’s books, including the wordless picture book Sidewalk Flowers, and he has received awards for his illustrations, including the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. He now lives in Toronto and works in a shared studio space in Chinatown where he eats too many banh mi sandwiches and goes to the library or the Art Gallery of Ontario on his breaks.