Sydney Smith

A little boy offers advice to his cat, which is lost in the city, from taking shortcuts through safe alleys to finding a friend in the park.

Throughout his day, a young boy thinks of his father who is working in the coal mine that is located underneath the ocean.

A little girl collects wildflowers while on a walk with her distracted father. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. This wordless picture book, conceived by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and beautifully brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.

When a child has a "bad speech day" at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.

"The Fitzgerald-Trouts must find a new place to live, while they try to protect their island from a nefarious plot masterminded by their terrible father, Johnny Trout"--

A story about the special relationship between a child and his grandmother and the time they spend looking for worms for the garden.

When you're small in the city, people don't see you, and loud sounds can scare you, and knowing what to do is sometimes hard. But this little kid knows what it's like and knows the neighborhood. And a little friendly advice can go a long way. Alleys can be good shortcuts, but some are too dark. And there are lots of good hiding places in the city, like under a mulberry bush or up a walnut tree. And if the city gets to be too much, you're always welcome...

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Through this powerful and uplifting story, poet Jordan Scott uses his own experiences to reveal what it's like to be a child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in. Compassionate parents everywhere will recognize how they, too, can reconnect their children to the world...