Book Title: Night on Neighborhood Street
Author(s): Eloise Greenfield
Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Copyright Date: 1991
Genre: Poetry picturebook
Brief Annotation: In this collection of poems, the theme that binds them together is the topic of what a night in a typical urban neighborhood may bring: sights, sounds, and emotions. The collection includes poems that are both free verse and rhyming, and they range from short and simple to poems that are longer and more complex. The topics covered are just as diverse, dealing with issues such as drug dealers on the corner, singing in church, an unemployed father, and a new baby in the family.
Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4.5—The poems in Night on Neighborhood Street are relatively simple in language but touch on a variety of subjects that can appeal to all ages. In fact, I had not yet seen a book on Scholastic.com with such a wide age range listed under interest level. This collection of poetry gives an excellent sense of a night in an African-American neighborhood, but it also has a universal theme that I think all children can relate to, such as missing a best friend who is away, being tucked in at night, and spending time together as a family at the end of the day, playing games, talking, and joking. This book will make readers look at what makes us similar and will help us all to realize we are more alike than we are different.
Readers who will like this book: Children who enjoy poetry and stories about families, friends, and everyday life; teachers who are teaching a unit on communities, neighborhoods, or families; parents looking for a rich and colorful collection of poems to read to their children before bedtime
Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: What are some of the sounds and sights you hear and see in your neighborhood at night? What do you love about your neighborhood? What would you change about it?
Optional, but noted as extra effort:
1. Interest Level (age): PreK—Grade 12
2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 4.7
3. List awards: Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor
4. Book trailer: None
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