Keeping the Night Watch

by Hope Anita Smith

illustrated by E.B. Lewis

image by Barnes & Noble

Smith, Hope Anita. Keeping the Night Watch. Ill. E.B. Lewis. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2008.

ISBN: 978-0-8050-7202-0.

Poetic Elements

This novel in verse contains 35 poems depicting the struggles of a thirteen year old boy trying to understand why his father walked out on his family and if he’ll stay once he returns. Through reference, Smith relates C.J.’s hesitance to forgive his father as quickly as the other members of the family. He has assumed the man of the house position and must endure a lot of soul searching to come to terms with his new place in the family.

Appeal

I think the narrative poems will hold young people’s interest as they are familiar with that form of text. I got caught up in the story rather quickly once I read the first few poems. Hope keeps you guessing as to whether C.J. will ever let go of his anger and forgive his father.

Overall Quality/Poet

Hope Anita Smith wanted this story to have a different ending, “an ending that proves wrongs can be righted and it’s never too late to say ‘Im sorry.” Keeping the Night Watch is a companion novel to The Way a Door Closes and earned the Coretta Scott King Honor award in 2009. E.B. Lewis’ watercolor illustrations are simple, yet effective in complementing the story. He has illustrated more than thirty-five books, including Coming on Home Soon, for which he received a Caldecott honor. He teaches illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Layout

Keeping the Night Watch has a table of contents divided into “Fall” and “Spring” with Spring being a time C.J. experiences a lot of changes including puberty and eventual forgiveness. Each poem’s title is in a color matching the poem’s illustration.

Spotlight Poem

The Jeweler

  

I

can not

understand

how this black gem

who   is   my   father                   

could  just  stop  shining.

I  am  the  family  jeweler.

I  can  give  him  value,

praise and appraise him,

but not just yet.

He must wait

for me

now.

I chose this shape poem as the spotlight poem because it’s just so raw and true. C.J. and C.J. alone decides whether or not his dad can come back into his heart and when. If he chooses to hold onto his anger and resentment, there is nothing his dad can do but be patient. It’s all about C.J. feeling as if he is in control.

Activity: I think I would use Keeping the Night Watch for a writing activity and have students recall a time when they were extremely angry and unforgiving. They can discuss and write about the ways that holding onto that anger affected their relationships with their friends and family.