Smoky Night

Bibliographic Information: Bunting, E. (1994). Smoky Night. Illus. David Diaz. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company.

Brief Annotation: This story begins with a boy and his mom being affected by the riots in Los Angeles without even being directly involved. When smoke starts coming inside their apartment everyone evacuates the building, which leads them to stay I a shelter for the night. Two cats from different cultural backgrounds come together to show the young boy and his mom the importance of getting along with others who are different from them.

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 1-4

Readers who will like this: Young readers. This would be a good story to read to a diverse group of children, or children who enjoy history.

Response/Rating (1-4): I rate this book 4 out of 4. This story has many layers, and caught be taught a few different ways. To younger kids it could be taught as a story of friendship between the cats. For older kids, that being friends with people of different backgrounds is a good thing. There is so much to do with this book in a classroom.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Does anyone know what a riot is? For what reasons would people riot? What is a riot? Why do people riot?