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
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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