- Hardcover: 40 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Feb 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0152699546
- ISBN-13: 978-0152699543
- Product Dimensions: 26.2 x 26.2 x 1.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 481 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #360,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
This is a story about cats -- and people -- who couldn't get along until a smoky and fearful night brings them together.
The Los Angeles riots made author Eve Bunting wonder about what riots meant to the children who live through them -- and what we can all learn from such upheavals. She has written more than 100 books for children and young adults, including Night Tree and Summer Wheels, and many deal thoughtfully with difficult issues.
Smoky Night was the winner of the 1995 Caldecott Medal; an American Library Association Notable Children's Book; a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; and a Parent's Choice Award.
From Publishers Weekly
Bunting addresses urban violence in this thought-provoking and visually exciting picture book inspired by the Los Angeles riots. Although they're neighbors, Daniel's cat and Mrs. Kim's cat don't get along. Nor do Daniel and his mother shop at Mrs. Kim's market. "It's better if we buy from our own people," Daniel's mother says. But when Daniel's apartment building goes up in flames, all of the neighbors (including the cats) learn the value of bridging differences. Bunting does not explicitly connect her message about racism with the riots in her story's background, but her work is thoroughly believable and taut, steering clear of the maudlin or didactic. Diaz's dazzling mixed-media collages superimpose bold acrylic illustrations on photographs of carefully arranged backgrounds that feature a wide array of symbolic materials--from scraps of paper and shards of broken glass to spilled rice and plastic dry-cleaner bags. Interestingly, Diaz doesn't strongly differentiate the presumably Asian American Mrs. Kim from the African American characters--even the artwork here cautions the reader against assumptions about race. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Mama and I stand well back from our window, looking down. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Mama and I stand well back from our window, looking down. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disturbing,
By
This review is from: Smoky Night (Hardcover)
My daughter brought this book home from her school library and after reading the book to her I couldn't believe this would be available in a kindergarten library. It is very disturbing! I believe it has a good message but the details are too vivid for a 5 year old. Daniel sees people stealing from stores, sleeps in his clothes because he may have to get out in the middle of the night, has to escape a fire, and sees "a dead man with no arms" which turns out to be a manequin! I would look for other books about people of different races coming together in crisis that aren't so scary.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A 3 1/2 year old critic,
By "margaretsmom" (Riverwoods, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Smoky Night (Paperback)
My daughter spotted this book at the library and said "look its a badge book." We are reading Caldecott Honor books to earn a badge from the library. I thought the content was a little advanced for a 3 year old, but she said "mommy this is an interesting book." She wants to read it again tonight before we return it to the library. I am ordering a paperback copy for at home and for future reads. I think she will understand the content and meaning more as she gets older. I am certain she doesn't know what riots are but she liked the tie-in with the 2 fueding cats becoming friends in the end and sharing a bowl of milk at the shelter where their families have been relocated during the riots.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a story about a horror that happened in our time,
By Sarah E (Johnson City, TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Smoky Night (Paperback)
Smoky Night portrays a mother and son family in urban Los Angeles who are forced to leave their apartment because of a fire while the riots are in full swing. The background of each full-page spread consists of various photographed media, while the left side contains the text and the right side the impressionistic illustrations. The paintings contain exceptionally heavy lines to lend a sense of surrealism to a horrifying experience and also give a sense of seriousness within the brightly colored illustrations. This story shows an experience that elementary children nowadays won't remember, but may still be vivid in their parent's memory, and reminds the reader that adversity does not have racial boundaries.
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