Smoky Night (10/26)

Title: Smoky Night

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: David Diaz

Ages: 6 and up

Type: Picture Book

Rating: 5

Summary: During a night of rioting in Los Angeles,  friendships are made between neighbors who have never got along in the past. The illustrator David Diaz won a Caldecott Award for his collage illustrations in this book.

 

This book is very inspirational and teaches a very important lesson. Daniel, Daniel's mother and Mrs. Kim all mature from the beginning of the book to the end of the book, which is a key element in good literature.  Daniel explains to the audience that his mother, Mrs. Kim, his cat Jasmine and Mrs. Kim's cat have never gotten along in the past. The night the riots broke out both Daniel and Mrs. Kim lost their cats. At the end a fire-fighter brings the cats to the shelter and announces that he found the cats huddled together underneath stairs. At the end of the book Daniel's mother realizes that she never really know Mrs. Kim to make the judgement that she didn't like her, so she introduces herself. That is the beginning of their friendship. I think it is really creative and fun that two different families were brought together by their cats. It's a humorous way to teach the importance of getting to know people judging them.

I also really enjoyed the illustrations in this book. David Diaz's watercolors and collage illustrations paint a beautiful picture. ALl the pictures are all so bright and colorful.