Smoky Night

Bunting, E. (1994). Smoky Night. Illustrated by David Diaz. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books.

Brief Annotation: Follow a mother and her son as they encounter a riot in their neighborhood one evening. They are forced from their home due to fire started by the rioters and stay in a church for shelter. The mother, son, and even their cat learn the value of getting along with others, especially when you do not know them.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade Level: Grade 2- Grade 5

Readers who will like this: Children who are interested in the global world around them, yet still need that picturebook style to make the situation seem not so grim. It would be a great book to integrate into read aloud.

Response/Rating (1-4): I would rate this book a 4 as it depicts such a horrid piece of our recent history in such a way that younger readers would not be scared of what took place. I also love the illustrations as pieces of materials were used to align with the storyline.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Who has heard of a riot? What type of things may take place during a riot?

Reading Strategies Connection: Book Boxes (Tompkins pg. 12). Book boxes are collections of pictures and objects that relate to a story or text. While reading a story, whether it be during a read aloud, or independent reading, students will make a list of important objects from the book that they would like to have in their book box. The next step is to choose a box, basket, plastic tub, empty coffee can, bag, or other container they wish to use for their book box. Students will decorate their box with the name of the book and other pictures or words from the book. Once completed, the students are now ready to fill the book box with at least 3-5 objects or pictures from their list they compiled during the reading. A copy of the book should also be placed in the box. It may be a good idea for the student to make an inventory for their box to include the items they included and an explanation of why each item was selected. The final step is to share the completed boxes with classmates, showing each item and explaining why the student decided to include it in their box.
Book boxes are a visual representation of what was read in the book. It aids in the comprehension of a book and allows the teacher to how well students understand a book. Teachers can have students choose a book on their own, assign books per child or small group, or have the class create a book box from a book read to all the children in the classroom. The boxes can be modified to create author boxes, autobiography boxes, poetry boxes, bio boxes, and even theme boxes.