Module 6: Smoky Night

Image from: http://emilyreadsagain.blogspot.com/2011/05/smoky-night.html

Summary:
A young boy sees a riot for the first time in his life right in his neighborhood.  The illustrations displays the intensity of the riot such as crumbled red paper in the background.  The riot gets worse when a fire starts in his own apartment building from the rioters themselves and so the people needed to evacuate for safety.  He begins to worry when he can't find his cat Jasmine but his mother encourages him by saying that she is ok and knows how to take care of herself.  


Reviews:
Books can be barriers against the wind, though, and Smoky Night . . . [is a] perfect example of [a] picture book that, in [its] treatment of tough topics, invite[s] reading and healing discussion, not only by kids of the traditional target age--6 through 9--but also by older kids, even those in high school. The problem is getting the books into the hands of these older kids. Because the production, marketing, and distribution of books all hinge on the perceived need to categorize, any title that can't be easily labeled with an "age appropriate" designation runs the risk of being lost. . . .

Cart, M.  (1995, September 15).  Barriers against the wind.  [Review of the book Smoky night, by E. Bunting].  Booklist 92(2), 150.  Retrieved from http://booklistonlie.com

Impressions:
It was sad to see a child experience a violent riot in his neighborhood but glad to see his family and the neighbors finally uniting during this time.  I enjoyed the illustrations that portrayed the violence of the scene.  It is rarely seen using this type of illustration with violence involved and sends a very powerful message.


Suggestions:
A lesson can be made in focusing the illustrations of a book.  Students can bring materials from home from a list given to them and students can create their own personal page of a class book using those same materials.  Students can create a page about themselves as a collage theme.  Magazine pages can be used, strings, ribbon, buttons, and any other materials can be used to create a unique page.  Once the pages are created, the librarian can place them together to make a class book.


Bibliography:
Diaz, D. (1994).  Smoky night.  San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.