Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
September 1, 2019/in Picture Book 5-8 Infant/Junior /by Ellie
BfK Rating:
BfK 238 September 2019
Reviewer: Jill Bennett
ISBN: 978-1406388404
Price: £12.99
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: Picture Book
Age Range: 5-8 Infant/Junior
Length: 40pp
Buy the Book

Small in the City

Author: Sydney Smith

Warmly wrapped against the winter chills, a small child leaves the tram and begins walking. ‘I know what it’s like to be small in the city,’ says the narrator and goes on to talk of the noisy, bustling, at times scary environment he’s entered.
As he continues walking we realise that the child is addressing a special someone. Furthermore, rather than sounding scared, he offers advice on how best to navigate the landscape: ‘alleys can be good shortcuts’, steer clear of big dogs … ‘the fishmongers down the street are nice. They would probably give you a fish if you asked.’
All the while the snow swirls ever faster around as the child stops several times to put up posters. He enters the park and walks towards a bench, stops again and then we see and we understand …
“Your bowl is full and your blanket is warm … you could just come back,” he tells the absent feline as he starts making his way back towards home …
Awesomely beautiful, intensely moving and oh so brilliantly done, this remarkable book opens you to the raw emotions of the searcher. There is so much to take in, in Smith’s superbly observed city scenes; blurred images viewed through the tram’s misted windows, the street scene jumbled into confusion by the mirrored windows of an office block, tall linear buildings towering skywards amid a tangle of cables and street lights, while close ups of the snow covered boughs of street trees and the blizzard of falling snow reminded me somewhat of a Hockney landscape.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Ellie http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Ellie2019-09-01 12:11:042022-05-19 15:39:51Small in the City

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

BfK 254 May 2022 Download BfK Issue BfK 254 May 2022
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Peter Bently and Steven Lenton named winners of The Children’s Book Award 2022

June 27, 2022

Shortlist for the 2022 SLA Information Book Award

June 23, 2022

2022 Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Winners Announced

June 16, 2022

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2022 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
My Friends Kitty and the Moonlight Rescue
Scroll to top