Footpath Flowers
From award-winning poet JonArno Lawson comes a beautifully illustrated wordless picture book – an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.
"I'd give this book to anyone." New York Times
"A poignant, wordless storyline ... this ode to everyday beauty sings sweetly." Kirkus Reviews
"A delightful ode to the powers of observation and empathy." School Library Journal
"A quiet, graceful book about the perspective-changing wonder of humble, everyday pleasures." Booklist
"A powerful reminder of the importance of appreciating our surroundings and the mutual gift of giving." Junior Magazine
In this wordless, beautifully illustrated picture book from award-winning poet JonArno Lawson, a little girl collects wild flowers while her distracted father pays her – and their surroundings – little attention. Each flower the little girl gathers becomes a gift for a person or animal, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter.
An ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures, Footpath Flowers is a quiet but powerful testament to the joy that children can find in ordinary things and the mutual value of giving.
JonArno Lawson is a Canadian award-winning poet and writer who has published several works of verse. His collections for children include Black Stars in a White Night Sky and The Man in the Moon Fixer’s Mask, and for adults, Inklings and Love is an Observant Traveller. He lives in Toronto with his wife and three children. Find him on Twitter as @JonArNoMore.
Sydney Smith is the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award and has twice won the Kate Greenaway Medal. He has illustrated multiple children’s books, including Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, the winner of the 2017 Kate Greenaway Medal, The White Cat and the Monk, written by Jo Ellen Bogart, I Talk Like a River and My Baba's Garden, both written by Jordan Scott, Do You Remember?, Island Storm written by Brian Floca, and the acclaimed Footpath Flowers, which was a New York Times Children’s Book of the Year and a winner of the Governor General Award for Illustration. Find Sydney online at sydneydraws.ca and on Instagram as @sydneydraws.