The Children’s Bookshow is bringing author and illustrator Sydney Smith all the way from Nova Scotia, Canada to the U.K for two live events on their Autumn tour. Sydney is renowned for his illustrations and for the books he has created solely and with other authors. He was awarded the extremely prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 2024, has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice, in 2017 for The Town is by the Sea written by Joanne Schwartz and in 2021 for Small in the City which he both wrote and illustrated. At the time of writing there are still some tickets available for both his  Hull performance and his London performance but you may need to be quick! Every child who attends one of Sydney’s performances will receive a free copy of his book My Baba’s Garden to take home and keep.

I am delighted that Sydney Smith has kindly agreed to answer my questions prior to the tour later this year and I hope you find his thoughtful answers as interesting and insightful as I did.

Who were your artistic influences as a child and what advice would you give children who are interested in illustration?

As a child I was in love with books. I liked reading, but I loved books. I loved the physicality of a book, the way they smelled, the sound of the page turning, and more than anything, the illustrations. Narrative images never ceased being my passion from the first drawings my mother stuck to the fridge. I was inspired by my first favourite picturebook, The Shrinking of Treehorn, illustrated by Edward Gorey. His illustrations still are some of my favourites. He inspires me to this day to make books for myself, first. One of the reasons I believe that I became a professional artist was because I never grew out of drawing. Every kid is an artist but at some point they usually become self-conscious and stop enjoying the act of creating art. For some reason, that never happened to me and I just kept on enjoying it well into my “adult years”. I think my advice for any children who are interested in illustrating is to be like Gorey, make your art for yourself, don’t worry what people want to see. And always remember to play. If you have fun doing it, before long, you will be amazed at what you can draw.

You use varying styles of presentation in your books. Some of your illustrations are framed in a similar way to a graphic novel and others in vignettes or double page spreads . How do you decide on the format you will use?

I think it all depends on what is happening in the moment I am illustrating. For example, if two children are exploring an island and encounter many landmarks and locations a single page, I may opt for using panels. It communicates much information in a single page. It can show an action sequence or act as a montage.

In a separate example, if those two kids are standing on the shore looking at the ocean and watching the waves crash against the rocks I may choose a double page bleed. One big image that can encompass a feeling of awe or something that I would like the reader to meditate on.

How do you think your work has changed as your career has developed?

My work is taking lots of turns but anything I’ve done that is worth anything has come from taking risks. Standing behind a choice that sometimes doesn’t even make sense to me. That is what excites me, following my gut. When I began my journey, I was working in way that didn’t feel sincere. Slowly, with every book I made, I discovered where my strengths and weaknesses were. I also fell in love with the power of visual storytelling There are so many fascinating ways to tell a story and it all happens in the mind of the reader. My job is to provide the right words and images.

In an interview in 2022 you said, “listening … is more in line with how I approach stories”. Please can you explain a little on how this helps your creative process? 

I’m not quite sure I remember the context of the interview but I do think it is important to allow a story to talk to you. I’ve been in the frustrating position of trying to force a story to be something it wasn’t. I spent years struggling until I took a step back and saw that it was something all together different. Listening is often required to be present in the moment. When I was a child, the most transcendent moments were when I stopped and absorbed the sounds and smells that surrounded me. I felt so small and such a part of everything at the same time. I often think that the reason I make children’s books is just so that I can re-experience a fraction of those moments that I had when I was young.

Do You Remember? in particular conveys the impression that this is a story personal to you. When illustrating books for authors do you feel able to imbue the illustrations with your own experiences in the same way? 

Yes, it is important for me to bring my own personal experience to a project even if the character seems nothing like me. The fact is, we are all so similar it’s hard to find what sets us apart. Those parts of ourselves that are personal yet universal, like memories, anxiety, sadness, joy, those are the subjects that intrigue me. We all experience these things and when we tell stories about these elements of life, we speak about the human condition. And that has the potential to be timeless and travel beyond barriers of borders and culture.

How do you approach drawing for a live audience? This, I imagine, must differ greatly from the process for creating books. What aspect of live performance do you find the most rewarding?

Live performances have always been exciting and thrilling. I enjoy connecting with the children and there have been many times I was blown away by what they contributed. Drawing for live audiences feels magical, as if the energy of the entire room, from all the participants, young and old is concentrated on the single act of creating art. Many times you could hear a pin drop. And other times it has been wild and deafening. I always leave a painting performance energized and reminded how special audiences of picturebooks truly are.

What can we look forward to from you next? Do you have plans to collaborate with other writers or is it possible that you may concentrate on creating your own books?

I have a few picturebooks lined up. Interestingly, two of the books I will be finishing soon are written by illustrator/authors, friends whose work I admire very much. I enjoy collaborating and I have been extremely lucky to have been paired with talented writers and kind people. It is important to me that we share a similar vision for the book and it makes it easier if we already have a good rapport. When I’m not working with someone else’s text I always return to my own. I am happy when I write, and at this moment I am burdened with an excessive amount of stories. Many, if not all of them will not see the light of day but their purpose is to keep me entertained and I am happy to keep playing.

I am grateful to Sydney Smith for taking the time to answer my questions and have learned a great deal from his carefully considered responses. Thank you to Saira Aspinall and the Children’s Bookshow team for all their assistance in putting this blog post together and last but not least you may like to watch this lovely video trailer from Sydney himself.