I was recently introduced to Sydney Smith, and am enjoying exploring his work. The first of his work I read, enjoyed, and greatly admired was Small in the City. Today I read the 2023 picture book Do You Remember? It didn’t hit me quite as hard, but it was still lovely, moving, and well-structured.
Like Small in the City. this book focuses on childhood emotion and processing them. In this book, a boy and his mom are sharing memories of their old life while trying to settle in to their new apartment. There is both the general sense of building connection between parent and child, as they share precious memories back and forth, and the more poignant and painful sense of grappling with loss. They’ve been through a change, and they are trying to find themselves again. They are starting new selves, in a way, in a new place.
And memories are the thread that connects their lives, to each other and from the past to the emerging present.
Highly recommended.
