Smoky Night

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: David Diaz

Peach’s Picks Rating:

 

Year of publication: 1994

City of publication: San Diego, CA

Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company

ISBN: 0-15-269954-6

Author website: No personal website. Information may be found at http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=2210

Illustrator website: No personal website. Information may be found at http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/HarperChildrens/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators/ContributorDetail.aspx?CId=12021 and http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3002 

Media used for illustrations: Paintings done in acrylics on Arches watercolor paper and photographs

Annotation:  A neighborhood erupts with violence during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Neighbors come together in the safety of a shelter and establish connections leaving differences in backgrounds and ethnicities behind.

Personal reaction to the book: The story takes place during one night of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Daniel and his mother live in an apartment that is surrounded by rioters and looters who rampage through the streets. As they look out the window and watch the action in the street below, Daniel is perplexed by the events. He acts as the narrator of the book and reflectively asks his mother questions about the scenes of violence and looting below.  She answers him directly, trying to make sense of the violence and destruction in their neighborhood. The reader learns that Mrs. Kim, whose market is being looted, seems like an unfriendly woman to Daniel and his mother. Mrs. Kim has an ornery pet cat. Daniel also has a pet cat. Suddenly, fires threaten Daniel’s apartment building as well as Mrs. Kim’s store. All neighbors flee to a shelter. In the melee, neither Daniel nor Mrs. Kim is able to locate their pet before running to safety. Daniel pleads with neighbors and firefighters to look for his cat. Finally, a firefighter enters the shelter holding both Daniel and Mrs. Kim’s cat. For safety’s sake, the cats that were once enemies appear to have set aside grievances and become friendly. Following the lead of their pets, Mrs. Kim and Daniel’s mother follow suit and form a tentative friendship. The author uses Daniel as a mouthpiece to address the underlying cause of how an event such as this could occur. It is best summed up when Daniel says that people do not trust each other because “They probably didn’t know each other before…now they do” (page 25). The text is straightforward and tightly constructed. The artwork is textural mixed media with jagged edges echoing the uneasy emotions of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Each opening is a double-page spread with the background covering both sides. Backgrounds are photographs created by the illustrator that relate to the text; for example, breakfast cereal looking as though it exploded on to the ground from a box forms the background of pages 7-8. The text relates to the background saying, “Across the street from us people are dragging cartons of cereal and sacks of rice from Kim’s Market (page 7).” The illustrations portraying the story’s action are chunky, impressionistic paintings created using acrylic paint and bold brush strokes. Each painting is framed by a black border. While it is clear by the text that the characters are Korean, African-American, and Hispanic, the illustrator depicts the people in shades of blue and purple, thus eliminating obvious ethnicities. The text is placed in jagged rectangular boxes on the left side of the double spread while the illustrations that portray the story’s action are placed in a square boldly outlined in black on the right side of the double-spread. The color palette is dark, with yellow-gold used as highlights. Illustrations complement the text very well. I suggest that it is time to publish an updated edition that includes end notes placing the 1992 Los Angeles riots in historical perspective.

Further discussion of artwork:

In his book Looking at Picture Books, John Warren Stewig states “What goes on in the art world affects what goes on in picture book art…” (page xvii). In the case of Smoky Night, “What goes on in current events affects what goes on in picturebook art. This is the story of a tumultuous time in Los Angeles. David Diaz, the illustrator, created a tumultuous tableau reflecting the chaotic 1992 Los Angeles riots. Just as the streets were littered with debris from looting, the borders surrounding the main illustrations and the text box are littered with a collage of debris that corresponds to the text and reflects events surrounding the riots. The primary illustrations are composed of acrylic paint that is thickly applied to paper giving the pictures a heavy feel. Each picture looks like a stained glass window and seems to be lit from behind. The pictures are framed by a thick black line, like those that surround stained glass windows.  Using heavy black lines to outline each character and their features, the artist continues emphasizing the stained glass style.

Reference

Stewig, J. W. (1995). Looking at picture books. Fort Atkinson, WI: Highsmith Press.

General curricular connections:

• Los Angeles history
• Los Angeles riots, 1992
• Riots and looting
• Neighborhood relations

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends this book for use with grades K-3

Book list recommends this book for use with ages 5-9

Peach’s Picks recommends this book for use with grades K-6

Awards/Recognitions:

School Library Journal starred review

Horn Book starred review

Publishers Weekly starred review

Caldecott Medal Winner, 1995

Simile: Page 5; “They toss out shoes like they’re throwing footballs.”

Simile: Page 5; “Smoke drifts, light as fog.”

Book cover picture retrieved from http://www.hmhbooks.com/catalog/downloadresultsa.cfm?adv=y&ean=9780152018849