Smoky Night (Caldecott Medal Book)

This story starts out with a mom and her son standing by their window watching a riot. They see people stealing, smashing things and screaming. Accross the street people are dragging cartoons of cereal and snacks of rice from Kim's Market. The boy mentioned that they do not shop there because his

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mother says it is better to buy from our own people. They go to bed but they keep their clothes on. The next thing they know is they are rushing down stairs because their apartment building is on fire. The boy is freaking out because he can not find his cat. The fireman said that the cat probly go away all ready and Kim the lady from the market can not find her cat either. The boy's cat and Kim's cat did not get along either. They end up going to the shelter for the night. The fireman comes to the shelter and brings them their cats he had found. The boy asked where he had found them and he said they were under the stairs together and they were even holding paws. The mother of the boy invites Kim over to share a bowl of milk and Kim accepts the invitation.

I enjoyed this book. It was the story more than the pictures. I can not wait to read this to my boy when he gets old enough to let him know not to judge and give everyone a chance.

I would definitely read this story aloud to my students. The pictures were great and the meaning behind the story is very helpful.

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This book is about a mother, her son, and their cat and rioting and looting that is going on in their nationhood. Their apartment building catches on fire and they have to go sleep in a shelter. The boy is sad because he thought that their cat was in the fire but he wasn’t.

This was a terrible

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book in my opinion. I didn’t not enjoy this book at all. This book had acceptable pictures but they were nothing great. The book had a repetitive sense too it. The repeating worry of the cat was annoying and deterred me from reading.

If I had to use this book as a requirement, I would use it in a lesson about fires or I would use it in a lesson about different parts of the world.

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Brent Hagen
Children’s Lit
March 15, 08

Contemporary Real Fiction
Smoky Night
By Eve Bunting
Caldecott Medal Winner

Smoky Night is the type of book that evokes strong emotion. The story takes place during a riot. During the riot Daniel, the little boy is seeing and talking about the evils that he is

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viewing such as the looting of businesses and shootings. As the mother was talking to her son, she realizes that she cannot shelter her son from all of the ills of society. At this point she puts Daniel down for bed. As the hours progress the apartment house is now on fire. As the different families are forced out of their homes, it is evident that the surrounding people do not know each other. It is implied that the people did not know each other due to their cultural differences. As the families were leaving for the shelter small conversations were starting to take place. It becomes evident that the individuals were not that much different from each other.
As stated earlier Smoky Night does evoke strong emotion. The story is thought provoking and establishes an avenue for thought and discussion. This book would be an effective classroom tool for discussing cultural differences and fears. The book would be appropriate for most grade levels. As children read the book they are able to explore why people are different as well as alike. In the end the reader comes to the conclusion that people are all pretty much alike with similar thoughts, feelings, and needs. This was a worthwhile book and I can readily see why it is a winner. The illustrations were interesting and thought provoking.

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A good book to read during Black History month. Make sure that the students and a little older because this book is more mature. It has a very good lesson about getting to know someone before you judge them.

Daniel and his mother look out their window watching the rioters outside cause terrible disaster on their street. Still in fear, Daniel goes to sleep with his mother and their cat, Jasmine. Waken in the middle of the night by their apartment building being on fire, Daniel and his mother have to

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leave their lost cat, Jasmine to find shelter. Will They find Jasmine?

I thought this book was amazing. It not only is a great book for younger ages, but it also kept me attentive. You could really feel as Daniel, a young child, would feel in a situation like that. I also think it depicts a great view of cultural differences. The book is very realistic with a very real meaning behind the simple story of a lost cat.

I think this would be a great book to have a lesson on morals and values with old grades, such as, fourth and fifth graders. Have them pair up and draw, write or talk about what makes them different from each other in front of the class. Have the class as a whole, write why everyone should get along with each other and write their answers on a huge piece of paper and hang it in the room. You could have the kids add to the end of the story, such as, what they think happened when Daniel and his mother got home from the shelter after the riots. Lastly, you could teach on fire prevention and safely leaving a burning building.

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Smoky Night follows a mother and daughter as riots develop in their metro-city town. The story begins with looters and the daughter questioning such. Her mother reassures her and claims the rioters are moving on. There is a scene of someone stealing a tv, then an alarm rings in their apartment

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complex. The mother and daughter along with a bunch of others storm out of the building. The daughter had left her cat in the apartment, and a fireman rescues it. Another lady from another building finds her cat .The turmoil subsides and there is yet peace again. The daughter and mother visit the lady, bringing their cat to caress with the lady's cat. This book was ok. The story is seemingly satisfactory, but seems to be a true account of riots, having impacted a child's life. The artwork is done with lots of darker colors and surrounded by very exuberant cut-outs, making for a very eye-appealing contrast.

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This is a moving book about people who can't get along, but in the end, after a riot, learn to work together and finally get to know one another. It's really an amazing and well written book that really looks at many issues going on in the world. I could see this book as being one that may bring

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about the need for 'defense'.

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This is a great book to help children recognize diversity, conflict and resolution. The beginning of this book showing pictures of a young boy and his mother witnessing a riot. Later there is a fire and he misplaces his cat. Later he finds his cat with his neighbor's cat(who his mother has issues

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with) in the arms of a fire fighter. In the end, everyone is happy that they are alive along with their cats.

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This picture book captures the essence of multicultural literature. In it, a fire started by rioters in a neighborhood bring families of different backgrounds together to cope with the smoky night. The illustrations are phenomenal- each page seems to have its own texture created by layered

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materials. On top of the texture is an illustration of the scene that is taking place on that page. There is so much to look at and take in on each page that people of all ages will be attentive to this story.

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Smoky Night contains beautiful illustrations and is about a little boy named Daniel and his mother. They look out thier window in Los Angeles at all of the looters on the street. While they are asleep, their apartment catches fire and they are forced to evacuate to a nearby shelter. Daniel loses

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his cat Jasmine and fears she has died in the fire. His neighbor, Mrs. Kim, is missing her cat, too. After much suffering and worrying about his cat, Daniel is thrilled when a firefighter finds Jasmine and Mrs. Kim's cat snuggled up together under the stairs. This is a touching story because the two cats did not like each other until they snuggled up to save each others life.

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This book is about a family that lives in an apartment building in an area being ravaged by riots. The little boy awakens to find out his apartment building is on fire. They narrowly escape but he's worried about his little cat. Luckily, that night at the shelter, a fireman arrives holding his cat!

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Safe but smelling like smoke...

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A note of caution: this is an intense and emotional book. It's also amazingly poignant and beautifully created and a welcome addition to any library. But, with the subject material being the LA riots as seen through a small boy's eyes, parents should be aware of and involved in the reading process

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of Smoky Night.
David Diaz does a masterful job of creating two dimensional collages on each page of this book, juxtaposing chalk drawings of the main characters with layered effects of paper, candy, cardboard, and many other mediums. The story focuses on a small boy named Daniel who is seeing rioters in his neighborhood and is displaced from his home due to the fires that occur later. When both Daniel's cat and the cat of a local Asian woman are both rescued by a firefighter, Daniel serves as the innocent architect of racial reconciliation between two individuals. This reconciliation is at the heart of this story, a story that doesn't gloss over the harsh details of the riots but instead allows these details to be healed by the people affected. Truly a very engaging book that should be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

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Eve Bunting creates a heartwarming story of a child’s perspective on the LA riots in Smoky Night. The language is simple and straightforward but book contains a very profound message. The illustrations are bold and include photos of real items as the background. The story raises honest questions

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about relationships between people of different races in our society. This book could easily be used in a high school setting to begin a discussion on the history of race relations in the United States. It could also be used as a starting point to research the working of Dr. Martin Luther King and examine how far America has come since his famous I Have a Dream speech and how much work still needs to be done.

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This book is an excellent realistic/historical fiction story because it discusses huge themes that have been felt throughout our country's history. It addresses real life issues of violence and hatred that result from racism and prejudice. This story is a great tool to use in critical literacy

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because it will cause readers to question and think about great themes. The pictures are also impactful and draw readers into the story.

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This book is about a boy who lives in a neighborhood where race has separated the community. A riot breaks out and people are breaking into all of the businesses, busting out windows, and smashing street lights. They also set fire to the apartment building where the little boy lives. After everyone

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gets out of their houses safe they are taken to a shelter where they are forced to unite no matter what the color of their skin is.

I thought this book really portrayed what things use to be like and may still be like in some communities. I have never understood why people think being a different color matters. I suppose it has just been a way of thinking that has been passed down each generation for so many years. It amazes me that racism is still very much apart of our world today even after so many years. For example, in my town we still have certain neighborhoods that only certain races live in.

I would have my class write me a paragraph telling me their thoughts on racism. I really liked the artwork put together in this book made out of real items, so I would have my student use everyday items to make a picture of their favorite scene in the book.

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This is a story of how two families of different cultures survive the rioting in their city. The main characters are a little boy, Daniel, his Mom, and an orange cat. The family is awakened by smoke and has to leave their apartment building because of a fire from the riots. The cat is missing, but

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returned to Daniel later along with another cat found by the firemen. The book ends as the families who did not get along because of cultural differences make friends because of their cats.
I found several websites that listed Eve Bunting as one of their authors. For example, readingrockets.org/books/interviews has a video interview with Eve Bunting, a biography and a list of all of her books.

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This book was interesting but it was a little confusing and I think it would be confusing for elementary school children because it never tells what was happening at the end. It tells about people stealing stuff on the streets and burning down houses but it never tells about what is happening. It

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would be a great way to show the discrimination in the olden days though.

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Daniel and his mother watch riots in the street out of their apartment window. Daniel discusses how he does not like Mrs. Kim's, a woman who owns a store across the street, cat because it is always mean to Jasmine. Daniela dn his mother do not shop at Mrs. Kim's because they need to shop from their

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"own people." When it is time to go to sleep Daniel's mother and their cat, Jasmine, sleep with him. They are awaken by a smell of smoke and someone pounding on their door. They leave the apartment because there is a fire. Daniel is upset because he cannot find Jasmine. Everyone goes to a shelter and Daniel is still upset about Jasmine. A firefighter come in with Jasmine and Mrs. Kim's cat, the two were getting along and drank milk out of the same bowl. Daniel realizes that they can like each other and this makes his mother introduce herself to Mrs. Kim and asks her to come over sometime.

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A neighborhood is in total chaos one night when a riot breaks out. An apartment building catches on fire, forcing neighbors who do not know each other to come closer. Two neighbors who have never talked before end up becoming friends in the end.

This book would be very hard to read to young

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children. I believe it would be a little scary for them to understand. I do like how in the end the neighbors are brought together by their animals who never really like each other as well.

In the classroom I would like to talk more about riots and help the children understand a little bit better. I would also like for them to draw a picture of what they think might have also happened that night.

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A young girl and her mother watch out the window one night and see a lot of crime. People are stealing and breaking in places. They go to bed and their building catches on fire. They escape but the girl and the neighbor cannot find their cats. They are very sad until the fireman comes in holding

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both cats. They end up being very happy.

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The story starts out showing a mom and her son looking out a window at the violence below. The apartment is set on fire and as they are leaving the boy can't find his cat and another lady can't find hers. They go to a shelter and later a fireman finds the cats. The cats used to not get along, but

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now they do.

The book was alright, but does show how we can help each other out and get along once we get to know each other.

A teacher can use this in the classroom as a demonstration of how friendship can develop if we help each other out and get to know each other.

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Deep, dark acryllic paintings illustrate the story of a scary event-- a street riot.

Smokey Night is a book about a boy named, Daniel who lives in a city where riots are taking place. From his window Daniel can see looters breaking into nearby stores. Daniel is also observing fires burning in the distance. Of course Daniel is terrified and asks his mom why are people doing such bad

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things? His mom answers Daniel by saying that sometimes when people get angry they just want to destroy and don’t care if it’s right or wrong. Daniel and his mom have to leave suddenly to go to a shelter, Daniel cannot find his cat but it is too dangerous to try and find her at that moment. Once at the shelter Daniel and his mother run into Mrs. Kim, their long time neighbor who they had never spoken with because they belong to different ethnic groups. Mrs. Kim’s cat is also missing and her and Daniel are brought together by the fear they have for their missing cats. This story has a happy ending when both cats are united with their owners by the firemen. Mrs. Kim and Daniel’s mother start a friendship they never thought was possible.

This book is for any teacher or parent who wants to introduce the realities of the world to children. As a mother and future teacher I feel it is important to address things such as riots and racial tensions. This book shows how tragedy can bring people together and how children may have more in common with someone than they thought they ever would.

After reading this book children could list all the things they have in common with other children in the class. This would be a great activity in the beginning of the year for children to get to know each other. For younger children, they could draw and cut out their own versions of the cats from the story. This book also has to do with fires, and could be used to start a discussion on fire safety.

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"thickly textured and expressionistic acrylic paintings set against mixed media collage" (Tunnel/Jacobs); Caldecott Medal Winner; Author also wrote The Wall, Going Home, Fly Away Home, Night Tree, A Day's Work.