''Smoky Night'' is a 1994 children's book by

Eve Bunting Eve Bjørgum Bunting (née Bolton, December 19, 1928 – October 1, 2023), better known as Eve Bunting, was a Northern Irish-born American writer of more than 250 books. Her work covered a broad array of subjects and included fiction and non-fic ...

. It tells the story of a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

riot and its aftermath through the eyes of a young boy named Daniel. The ongoing fires and looting force neighbors who previously disliked each other to work together to find their cats. In the end, the cats teach their masters how to get along. The book made the list of One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century compiled by the Staff at the School Library Journal. They added the book to the list as paving the way towards the genre of serious picture books.School Library Journal:

. URL accessed 2 April 2010. David Díaz (illustrator), David Diaz's acrylic,

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

-like illustration of the tale earned the book the 1995

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

.American Library Association
Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 - Present
. URL accessed 27 May 2009.

Summary

Riots and commotion are happening around Los Angeles, where Daniel and his mother live. The family is forced to leave their apartment when the building catches fire. After all the racism and judgement happening and not getting along with their neighbor, they must come together and put their differences aside. In the upheaval, their cat and a neighbor's cat are lost. Once they get to the shelter where they were staying at, a fireman brings their cats, who have bonded over their experience.

Illustrations

Smoky Night is illustrated by David Díaz (illustrator), David Diaz. The paintings in this book were done in acrylics on Arches watercolor paper. The backgrounds were composed and photographed by the illustrator. The title was hand-lettered by the illustrator.

Awards

References

{{Caldecott Medal 1994 children's books Caldecott Medal–winning works Children's books about cats American picture books Children's books about race and ethnicity Children's books set in Los Angeles