Smoky Night illustrated by David Diaz

Smoky Night is written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by David Diaz. It is a Caldecott Award winning picture book. This is a sad but heartfelt story about a boy who has to experience and watch as his street fills with rioters.They began destroying and looting their neighborhood and stores. The boy and his mother, who seem to be African American, watch from their apartment building in fear. The boy has a pet cat named Jasmine who he cares deeply about. As they go to sleep among the chaos they are awakened to fire which has taken over their apartment. The boy and his mother have no time to pack their things and Jasmine the cat is no where to be found. They gather in a shelter and watch as many people cry in disbelief. Several of the people gathering in this one shelter seem to be of many different races. Another woman from the apartment building has lost her cat. This woman is not of "the same kind" so the boy and his mother have not communicated much with her even though they are neighbors. The little boy is so sad and then suddenly a firefighter appears holding both of the cats. The cats, who fought with each other before the fire on many occasions, have bonded and were found huddled together. The story seems to end by teaching a lesson. The cats have finally bonded and become friends through this horrific event and the people, of many different races, gather together and rely on one another to get them through this scary and horrible time.

The illustrations of this book are unlike others I have seem. They are very different and David Diaz uses actual parts of a photograph for the backgrounds of the pages. He then uses the theme or story lines to create his illustrations as well. Matches, hangers and dry cleaning bags, and food can be found throughout the illustrations to emphasize the story. The colors he uses are dark and dreary, similar to the way the story reads. For the actual pictures it looks like he uses acrylic paints. Unique illustrations to go along with a heavy but wonderfully told story with a big lesson.