Sydney Smith has won the first annual Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picturebook of the Year Award for Small in the City
The book, about a boy navigating his way through a busy city, is published by Groundwood Books, making it a fitting tribute to Barry, Groundwood’s late publisher and a beloved editor of Canadian kidlit.
The $2,500 award is organized by the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable. The jury – comprised of Caroline Adderson, Tonya Lowe, and Logaine Navascues – also selected three honour books from the 10-title shortlist: Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe (Simon & Schuster Canada); Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden by Andrew Larsen and illustrated by Anne Villeneuve (Kids Can Press); and The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden by Heather Smith and illustrated by Rachel Wada (Orca Book Publishers).
A virtual award ceremony is planned for November.
The full shortlist:
- King Mouse, by Cary Fagan and Dena Seiferling, ill. (Tundra Books)
- Birdsong, by Julie Flett (Greystone Kids)
- Pokko and the Drum, by Matthew Forsythe (Simon & Schuster Canada)
- Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden, by Andrew Larsen and Anne Villeneuve, ill. (Kids Can Press)
- Encounter, by Brittany Luby and Michaela Goade, ill. (Tundra Books)
- It Began with a Page, by Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad, ill. (Tundra Books)
- Princess Puffybottom . . . and Darryl, by Susin Nielsen and Olivia Chin Mueller, ill. (Tundra Books)
- The House at the End of the Road, by Kari Rust (Owlkids Books)
- The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden, by Heather Smith and Rachel Wada, ill. (Orca Book Publishers)
- Small in the City, by Sydney Smith (Groundwood Books)