Bunting, E. (1994) Smoky Night. Orlando, Florida, HarcourtBooks.Brief Annotation: As smoke fills the air in the night riots fill the streets below. A young boy and his mother watch as the night unfolds all of the pain and destruction. After fleeing their home from a fire, they walk through the streets to a shelter where the rest of their neighbors are. Neighbors that they had not known before but are now brought together and form friendships.
Genre: Picture book, Historical fiction
Grade Level: K-Grade 3
Readers who will like this: The readers who will enjoy this book will be young kids who can really enjoy the beautiful pictures. Teachers will also enjoy this book because it brings up adversity in an interesting and captivating way.
Response/Rating (1-4): 4, This book is a wonderful and beautiful example of peacemaking. Even in the midst of extreme disaster and destruction, people come together to support one another. The illustrations are amazing and the mood of the book is intense, but also tender and caring. The use of the animals in the book is another great example of how certain things shouldn't matter, and we all have common ground, despite our differences. This book is truly a masterpiece and it's uniqueness will intrigue any reader.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Has anyone ever been seen people fight? Do people ever become friends after they fight?
Reading Strategies Connection:
I would have the students do a sketch-to-stretch activity. (Tompkins, 111) In this activity the student is able to deepen their understanding of the story. They use the themes in the book (in this case- friendship and peacemaking in times of difficulty) and sketch the symbols and characters. First we would read the story and give them the opportunity to discuss the book as well as the themes. Then I would have them individually sketch out their reflections and finally share them as a class.
You're smart to notice the role of the lost cat in sending a message in this story. Those common, every day facts of life don't change, regardless of color, creed, religion, gender, family structure, etc., when tragedy strikes. Too bad we can't keep that understanding at the forefront all the time, right?
ReplyDeleteYour sketch-to-stretch choice is a good one. With younger kids, you might even work on a whole class pictorial response (big sheets of paper on the way, pens, crayons, paint) to create a class response that you can keep around for a long time.
Finally, on a small editing note, remember to underline book titles, and smoky doesn't have an "e".
Good start, Beth!