Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Module 3: Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by David Diaz

Smoky Night is a picture book written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by David Diaz.  This book won the Caldecott Award in 1995.  It also won an ALA Notable Children’s Book, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and a Parent’s Choice Award.

Summary

 

Smoky Night tells the story of a boy, Daniel, his cat, Jasmine, and his mother Gena witnessing rioting outside of their apartment window.  Daniel asks his mother questions about the rioting and she responds that this is something that people do when they become angry.  They notice Mrs. Kim, a shop owner, trying to protect her store from looters.  They know Mrs. Kim because Jasmine does not get along with her cat, but they have never visited her store because Daniel’s mother says, “it’s better if we buy from our own people.”  Eventually Daniel and his mother decide to sleep. They awaken to the smell of smoke and evacuate the building, not knowing if Jasmine has made it out.  They end up with many others from the neighborhood in a church shelter.  Daniel cannot help but worry about Jasmine as Mrs. Kim is there worrying about her own “carrot-colored cat.”  The cats are found huddled together and Daniel explains that the reason they didn’t like each other before is because they did not know each other.  Gena understands the morale from the cats and invites Mrs. Kim to her house to become acquainted.

David Diaz’s illustrations are mixed media including photographed collages framing acrylic painted scenes.  The painting style, with its bold, outlined figures and colors can be compared to Picasso’s cubism techniques.   

Impressions

Smoky Night was based upon the rampant rioting that engulfed Los Angeles after the verdict of the Rodney King police brutality trial was announced in 1992.  The story gives the reader a realistic impression of witnessing rioting from the perspective of a child.  Daniel questions his mother about what is happening and she attempts to explain it.  Eve Bunting uses short choppy sentences which gives the feeling that the story was written by a child experiencing anxiety.  While it seems there can be no happy ending in this evening of violence, fires, and lost pets we are rewarded for our reading with a brave fireman hero and a welcoming exchange between neighbors who “are not our own people.”  The morale comes from the cats themselves, who did not like each other because they did not know each other.

Just a few months ago I watched rioting on television that occurred as a result of an acquittal of a police officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.  I watched from my living room miles away from the action, yet still in terror.  What was going to happen?  How would this affect my community?  Why?  Although this picture book does not answer all of these questions it offers some insights in a nonthreatening manner.  Moreover, it allows children the sense that they are not alone in their questions and fears.  Finally it opens the door for discussion of a difficult topic.  While this book was written in the ‘90s, it still proves to be timely today.

David Diaz’s illustrations capture the mood of the events through his use of color.  Darker colors are used at the beginning of the story to signify the nighttime and the violence.  Brighter colors are used toward the end of the story to represent a new understanding.  The photographed collages are an eclectic mix of items representing the text.  For instance, when the story refers to looting a shoe store, the text is framed on photographs of the soles of shoes.  You also see in the background photographs of bubble wrap, cereal, hangars and plastic bags, and concrete.  All of these items make you feel as if the story is “real”.  The painting on the last page of the cats lying together on a mat leaves you feeling hopeful.

Professional Reviews

…These negative responses to the book are the opposite of what most critics and children experience when reading the story and studying the artwork in detail. On a children’s literature discussion listserv Elizabeth Wiley (1996), says that her students, inner-city Southern, Asian, Black, “Discussion archive for Smoky Night by Eve Bunting and Hispanic third graders, liked the book and the theme and could recite incidents of fires in their own neighborhoods where the same sorts of interactions had occurred. Other readers on the listserv applaud the moral at the ending. Eve Bunting allows readers to experience the hatred and violence of the L.A. riots without having to be physically there, and the didactic story line is enriched by David Diaz’s award-winning illustrations.

Diaz’s illustrations are indeed captivating and even reminiscent of Picasso. Diaz uses thick, loose brush strokes in bright colors that are almost primitive. Diaz actually worked on this primitive style after taking a trip to Brazil and travelling down the Amazon. Diaz’s images, “powerful-pulsating and crowded: part street mural, part urban colPatricia Dibsie, lage” (Dibsie, 1995, p. 1268) come to life on each page. To create a “Carlsbad man’s artwork wins Caldecott medal” background for the writing, Diaz designed art to match the storytelling—such as coat hangers in a scene of a looted dry cleaners and spilled Fruit Loop cereal in a looted grocery store. Judges for the Caldecott award cite his work as dramatic and groundbreaking. Grace Ruth (cited in Dibsie, 1995), chairwoman of the Caldecott panel, praises Diaz for “capturing concrete and familiar objects” (p. 1B) with originality and flair…

-- Koehnecke, 2001

A noted author (Fly Away Home, 1991) brings all her empathy and creative skill to another timely topic: an inner-city riot. Standing well back from their window, Daniel and his mama watch looters steal TVs and break into Kim's market. When it quiets down the two fall asleep, only to be roused: their building is burning, so they escape, through ravaged streets, to a shelter. Though Bunting offers no reasons for the violence, she succinctly describes the mob's psychology. Mama explains, "...people get angry. They want to smash and destroy. They don't care anymore what's right...After a while it's like a game," while Daniel observes, "They look angry. But they look happy, too." The story is rounded out with a touch of reconciliation: Mama has't patronized Kim's market ("...it's better if we buy from our own people") but, after Daniel's cat and Mrs. Kims' make friends at the shelter, the people realize that they, too, could be friendly. Diaz's art -- rough-edged acrylic paintings mounted on collages of paper, burnt matches, and materials that might be found blowing on a California street -- is extraordinarily powerful. Defined in heavy black, the expressionistically rendered faces are intense with smoky shades and dark, neon-lit color. An outstandingly handsome book that represents its subject realistically while underplaying the worst of its horrors; an excellent vehicle for discussion. (Picture book. 4+)

--Kirkus Review, 1994

Library Uses

Smoky Night could be used with children elementary-high school.  In elementary schools it would be particularly helpful in areas where riots have taken place.  I can see the librarian working with the school counselor to select and present books that lend themselves to discussions of these terrifying incidents.  In high school, this book could be used as a discussion starter with current events.  School librarians can collaborate with teachers to select books like this one that are timely (and historical) and relevant. 

References

Bunting, E., & Diaz, D. (1994). Smoky night. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.

Koehnecke, D. (2001). Smoky night and crack: controversial subjects in current children’s stories. Children’s Literature in Education, 32(1), 17-30. Retrieved February 11, 2015.


Smoky Night by Eve Bunting , David Diaz | Kirkus. (1994, March 1). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/eve-bunting/smoky-night/

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