Smoky Night

Bibliographic Information:

Bunting, E. (1994). Smoky Night. Illus. David Diaz. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company.

Brief Annotation:

Daniel and his mother watch from their window rioting that is going on down on the street. Their building starts on fire and Daniel loses his cat. When they are finally reunited, Daniel learns some lessons about friendship and accepting others.

Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction

Grade Level: 2-4

Readers who will like this: Readers who like action and adventure. Readers who like historical stories.

Rating/Response: 3 for the story, 4 for illustrations. This book was a warm story about being brave and accepting others even if they are different from you. It is a threshold into talking about riots and why people all over the world fight, and why riots happen. The collage illustrations in the background of the painted pictures were amazing! All the collages and texture made the story and character pictures pop.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Have you ever seen a riot in person, on TV, in a movie? Have you ever not liked someone, but after getting to know them, changed your mind?