Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Week 1 Reflection 1; Smoky Night



Bunting, E. (1994). Smoky night. San Diego: Harcourt.

Smoky Night is a children’s story painted in beautiful acrylics.  I chose this book because it was selected as a Caldecott Award Recipient.  This book is a children’s picture book.  David Diaz, the illustrator, does an amazing job of drawing stunning pictures to detail the story and to accent points.  Eve Bunting describes the events of the book in a very masterful way.  It is written in the language a child can understand but in a very detailed way that is hard to describe.  With the combination of the beautiful drawings and masterful use of words, this book is a very easy and enjoyable read.  It also presents a very interesting element as a form of conflict.  Some unknown events of rioting occur and their home ends up being set on fire.  The boy loses his cat but it is later found with his neighbor’s cat.  They apparently never get along but they are found by a fireman cuddled together holding paws.  They then share a bowl of milk.  This element allows for the reader to emphasis any number of points that they wish the listener or it allows the reader to interpret the story as they want.  No matter what interpretation is drawn, a positive message comes from this book.

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