A review by backonthealex
Small in the City by Sydney Smith

5.0

Follow along on a cold winter day as a young boy rides a streetcar into the center of a city, disembarks, and begins walking through the streets. Dwarfed by the tall buildings and traffic on all sides, the child begins "I know what it's like to be small in the city." Continuing through the streets, at first it feels as though the child is speaking about himself, and that perhaps it is about his own experience, but as the story progresses, readers realizes that he is thinking about his lost cat. His suggestions of how the cat could find safe spaces, under a mulberry bush or up a walnut tree, ways to avoid dangerous spots, biting dogs, dark alleys, or warm up in from of a dryer vent until it can find its way home are a reflection of his hope for the survival of his missing kitty. As the story progresses, so does the falling snow until at last it is quite heavy and the young child returns home, knowing that ultimately the cat will be all right. This is a very emotionally charged story, especially if you have ever had to search for a missing loved pet (I have, 2 of my 5 readers have, too). The text is rather spare, confined to the narrator's thoughts, but much of the story is told wordlessly in a series of small graphic frames, all of which seem to stress the child's being alone in such a big, busy city, and the aloneness the missing cat may be experiencing. The illustrations, done in ink, watercolor and "a bit of gouache" are beautiful, poignant, and yes, even heartbreaking, but ultimately also hopeful.