From the author/artist of the multiple award-winning of Small in the City comes an innovative and moving look at memories, filtered through the mind of a child.
Can you hear the morning wind in the trees? Can you feel the snowflakes landing on your wrist? Can you taste the sweetness of the warm berries? Can you hear the Spring peepers singing from the frog pond?
Using a series of descriptions and the luscious pictures that accompany them, a boy describes the memories that are so meaningful to him as he is about to move into a new home. With an audacious structure and brief, self-contained episodes, Sydney Smith takes us into the mind of the boy as he processes the complex emotions that he experiences as he contemplates his new surroundings.
SELECTION
| 2023 Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books
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| 2023 Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books
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| 2023 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
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| 2023 Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
"A master of mood. . . Smith shows that, at any age, shared memories like theirs can help tilt the balance from present-day fearfulness to hope for the future. So can this book."— The New York Times
"Meditative and moving. . . Mr. Smith has a remarkable talent for capturing light in his paintings, so that even in depicting scenes of melancholy he brings to them a kind of redemptive luminosity."—The Wall Street Journal
"A sweet story about recognizing in a moment that the moment is going to be a core memory."—Smithsonian Magazine
★ "The author delicately and triumphantly creates a book worth remembering. . . Readers and listeners alike will be heartened by the lesson of using memories from the past to envision dreams for the future."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
★ "This hushed and deeply tender story will spark many conversations."—The Horn Book, Starred Review
★ "Strong emotion is conveyed through effective illustrations and book design. . . The undertone of sadness is ever present but so is the feeling of hope. The design and details in the illustrations ask readers to proceed slowly, think beyond what is stated, and construct their own interpretations of story and memory."—Booklist, Starred Review
★ "A loving familial portrait that envisions intentionality around the process of memory-making."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review ★ "An immensely satisfying glimpse of a family’s ability to navigate challenges through honest conversation and mutual support."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Sydney Smith beautifully captures all the fear and hope that comes with change in this heartfelt picture book about remembering and starting anew." —BookPage
Sydney Smith is the author and illustrator of Small in the City, which received eight starred reviews and a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators. Other books he has illustrated include The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart; Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson; and Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, which was awarded the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal. His accolades include two Governor General's Awards for Illustrated Children's Books and four New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year citations. His book I Talk Like a River, written by Jordan Scott, has received five starred reviews. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
From the author/artist of the multiple award-winning of Small in the City comes an innovative and moving look at memories, filtered through the mind of a child.
Can you hear the morning wind in the trees? Can you feel the snowflakes landing on your wrist? Can you taste the sweetness of the warm berries? Can you hear the Spring peepers singing from the frog pond?
Using a series of descriptions and the luscious pictures that accompany them, a boy describes the memories that are so meaningful to him as he is about to move into a new home. With an audacious structure and brief, self-contained episodes, Sydney Smith takes us into the mind of the boy as he processes the complex emotions that he experiences as he contemplates his new surroundings.
Awards
SELECTION
| 2023 Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books
SELECTION
| 2023 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
SELECTION
| 2023 Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
Praise
"A master of mood. . . Smith shows that, at any age, shared memories like theirs can help tilt the balance from present-day fearfulness to hope for the future. So can this book."— The New York Times
"Meditative and moving. . . Mr. Smith has a remarkable talent for capturing light in his paintings, so that even in depicting scenes of melancholy he brings to them a kind of redemptive luminosity."—The Wall Street Journal
"A sweet story about recognizing in a moment that the moment is going to be a core memory."—Smithsonian Magazine
★ "The author delicately and triumphantly creates a book worth remembering. . . Readers and listeners alike will be heartened by the lesson of using memories from the past to envision dreams for the future."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
★ "This hushed and deeply tender story will spark many conversations."—The Horn Book, Starred Review
★ "Strong emotion is conveyed through effective illustrations and book design. . . The undertone of sadness is ever present but so is the feeling of hope. The design and details in the illustrations ask readers to proceed slowly, think beyond what is stated, and construct their own interpretations of story and memory."—Booklist, Starred Review
★ "A loving familial portrait that envisions intentionality around the process of memory-making."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review ★ "An immensely satisfying glimpse of a family’s ability to navigate challenges through honest conversation and mutual support."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Sydney Smith beautifully captures all the fear and hope that comes with change in this heartfelt picture book about remembering and starting anew." —BookPage
Author
Sydney Smith is the author and illustrator of Small in the City, which received eight starred reviews and a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators. Other books he has illustrated include The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart; Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson; and Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, which was awarded the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal. His accolades include two Governor General's Awards for Illustrated Children's Books and four New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year citations. His book I Talk Like a River, written by Jordan Scott, has received five starred reviews. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
