Helpful Score: 2
This book was deserving of the Caldecott Medal. It is beautifully illustrated with paintings against collage backgrounds. A riot breaks out in Daniel's neighborhood one night and his apartment building catches on fire. During the night, Daniel and his mother are led to a shelter. Daniel is worried about his cat Jasmine, but he finds her at the shelter snuggling up with another neighborhood cat. This is a great story about people uniting in the wake of tragedy, forgetting their differences.
Helpful Score: 2
Written after the Los Angeles riots of the 1990s, this story tells the fictional tale of a young boy who witnesses the mayhem from his apartment window then has to evacuate to a shelter when his building catches on fire. The story resolves with his family and a shopkeeper from a different ethnic background getting to know each other for the first time. This story provides a great moral lesson and gentle exposure to a tumultuous time in our countrys recent history. The illustrations are a combination of acrylic painting and photographs of collage materials for a very textural and interesting effect.
Helpful Score: 1
The pictures are works of art. Deserving of the Caldecott.
Helpful Score: 1
No wonder this is a Caldecott Medal Book. An African/American boy living in an international neighborhood face rioting and learn about hate, kindness, and their neighbors. The illustrations are collage with slightly abstract paintings - full of color and movement and wed with the words to tell a story for people of all ages.
Helpful Score: 1
Touching story about a family whose apartment building catches fire during the night. Illustrated by David Diaz.
