Do You Remember?
Sydney Smith
Walker Books

As a mother and child lie in bed in the dark, they take turns to share fond memories. The voices are printed in different colours to enable readers to know who is speaking. “Do you remember …” the mother begins, “when we had a picnic in the field?” What we see are dreamlike watercolour scenes wherein Smith brings to life this treasured time when the child was excited about finding and sharing sweet berries when he and his parents were on a picnic.

The child then recalls the trials and tribulations of learning to ride a bike. We can almost feel the tension of the darkness caused by the loss of power relieved somewhat by Grandpa’s old oil lamp.
The boy now asks, “Do you remember . . . leaving our home behind? We packed up everything we own in our pick-up truck and drove down the motorway, farther than we’d ever been … We were lost.” “Of course I remember,” his mother replies.

A change of landscape is called to mind as the two drive through the city … to where they now are. Changed also is the number of family members for having handed his son a teddybear, the father has stayed behind.

There follow two beautiful wordless spreads and we realise that the move has only just happened for what we see next are partly unpacked belongings about which the mother and son have been reminiscing.

The boy then moves to the window asking, “Can we make this a memory, too?’ As the sun rises he savours the smells and sounds of this new city street and reassures himself that all will be well. “Yes, I will remember this,” he says returning to his mother’s side.

We know not why the father isn’t with them: that is for us to surmise.
A truly touching tale, awesomely told through the fusion of lyrical text and tender illustrations.