Review of Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson & Sydney Smith

Authors

Christiana O. Manthei, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Publisher

Groundwood Books

City

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Date of Publication

2015

ISBN

9781554984312

Date of Review

2017

Disciplines

Library and Information Science | Modern Literature

Keywords

Children's literature, reviews

Review

This wordless book shows a young girl walking through town with her father. She finds flowers growing in the cracks between the concrete sidewalk and picks them. They add color to her world when she looks at or smells them. Her father is often on the phone or talking to someone else and paying little attention to her. She gives her flowers away to mourn a dead bird, adorn a homeless man’s shoes, a neighbor’s dog, and her family. Each gift brings color to the lives of those around her. The story can be used to demonstrate the effect of small kind acts on both the doer and receiver. Since there are no words, it might be a book for children to look at on their own and then talk about with a parent afterwards. The illustrations tried to represent the change in people’s view of the flowers through color, but sometimes the use of color was confusing. Recommended. Christiana Manthei, Centennial Library Intern

Recommended Citation

Manthei, Christiana O., "Review of Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson & Sydney Smith" (2017). Library Intern Book Reviews. 179.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/intern_book_reviews/179

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