Anne Evelyn Bunting (née Bolton) (born December 19, 1928), also known as Eve Bunting, is a

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer of more than 250 books. Her work covers a broad array of subjects and includes fiction and non-fiction books. Her novels are primarily aimed at children and young adults, but she has also written the text for

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

. While many of her books are set in Northern Ireland, where she grew up, her topics and settings range from

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

to riots in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Bunting's first book, ''The Two Giants'', was published in 1971. Due to the popularity of her books with children, she has been listed as one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.

Life

Anne Evelyn Bunting was born in

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distric ...

to Sloan Edmund Bolton, a

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, and Mary (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Canning) Bolton, a homemaker. She married business executive Edward Davidson Bunting, whom she met in college, on March 26, 1950, and has three children: Christine, Sloan, and Glenn. She was educated in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland, attending Methodist College in the early 1940s and graduating in 1945; she then attended Queen's University, where she met her husband. After marrying, the couple moved to Scotland and started their family. In 1958, Bunting immigrated to the United States with her husband and three children, later attending

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

in 1959. Bunting then enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Of her first published story, ''The Two Giants'', she says, "I thought everybody in the world knew that story, and when I found they didn't - well, I thought they should." Bunting lives in Pasadena, California with her husband.

Literary career

Bunting went to school in

and grew up with

story-telling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural p ...

. In Ireland, "There used to be Shanachies...the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

s and

fairies A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

, of

old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I'm a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen". Author Bio Evelyn Bunting
/ref> This story-telling began as an inspiration for Bunting and has continued with her work.

Social diversity

With over 250 titles, Eve Bunting has engaged with many social spheres in her work. Every title focuses on a different issue. ''Smoky Night'' discusses racism and the Los Angeles riots with colorful illustrations. ''Fly Away Home'' illustrates a homeless father and son who live in an airport. Bunting has also addressed such topics as death, war, and troubled family life.

Awards

During her writing career, Bunting has won several awards for her books. She has received the Rishabh award for outstanding inspiration. She received the

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing a ...

from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in 1976 for ''One More Flight''. Other honors include the Southern California council on Literature for Children and Young People Award, PEN

Los Angeles Center Literacy Award LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

for Special Achievement in Children's Literature, and Southern California council on Literature for Children and Young People Award Excellence is a Series Award. ''Coffin on a Case'' won an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Juvenile from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

in 1993. Eve Bunting
Eve Bunting has also received the Heal the World award from a school. A young reader wrote Bunting to notify her of the achievement. She said, "It is among of the most cherished honors I have ever received and the plaque hangs proudly above my desk." David Díaz won 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 ...

for illustrating ''

Smoky Night ''Smoky Night'' is a 1994 children's book by Eve Bunting. It tells the story of a 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 ...

'', a picture book with text by Bunting. In 2006, Bunting's book ''One Green Apple'', illustrated by Ted Lewin, won the inaugural

Arab American Book Award The Arab American Book Award, established in 2006, is an annual literary award to celebrate and support the research of, and the written work of, Arab Americans and their culture. The Arab American Book Award encourages the publication and excelle ...

for books written for Children/ Young Adults. One Green Apple tells the story of a young girl who just immigrated to America from an Arab country and how she discovers that her differences are what makes her special. Bunting is proud of her writing and how it affects children of all ages.

Selected works

Fiction

*''The Cart that Carried Martin'' (2013), illustrated by

Don Tate Don Tate (born December 21, 1963) is an American author and illustrator of books for children. He is also an activist promoting racial and cultural inclusiveness in children's literature. He notes that as a child he had to read the encyclopedia ...

*''One Green Apple'' (2006), illustrated by Ted Lewin *''The Blue and the Gray'' (1996), illustrated by Ned Bittinger *''Dandelions'' (1995) *''A Day's Work'' (1994) *''Coffin on a Case!'' (1992) —

for Best Juvenile Mystery *''Fly Away Home'' (1991) :A father and son are homeless and they sleep at the airport. The son watches the planes fly away and hopes one day he will be able to leave. *''Gleam and Glow'' :Viktor finds hope from two fishes during a harsh war in the 1990s. *''The Ghost Children'' (1989) *''How Many Days to America?'' :This book describes a family secretly leaving their country and taking a small boat to America. When they reach America, they celebrate and have Thanksgiving. This is a very powerful Thanksgiving story. *''Is Anybody There?'' (1988) — Edgar nominee *''Scary, Scary Halloween'' (1986) — with illustrations by Jan Brett *''Face at the Edge of the World'' (1985) — Adapted to an ABC Afterschool special titled "A Desperate Exit", starring

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series a ...

. *''The Memory String'' :A young girl remembers her family, including her mother, by a string full of buttons. Each button belongs to a certain family member and memory. She is dealing with change as her stepmother and father paint the house. This story focuses on how the young girl copes with the pain of losing her father and gaining a stepmother. *''Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust'' (1980), illustrated by Stephen Gammell :Woodland animals living in a clearing are taken away one group at a time by the Terrible Things from their forest home, the abductions going unquestioned. The other animals, out of fear, turn a blind eye as their neighbors are taken. A little white rabbit reflects that if perhaps the animals had stood together, the Terrible Things might have been stopped. *''Moon Stick'' *''Nasty, Stinky Sneakers'' — 1997 Sequoyah Children's Book Award *''Night Tree'' :A family travels through a forest and decorates a Christmas tree with oranges and popcorn. They sing and drink hot chocolate with the animals. The family leaves the tree for the animals to celebrate Christmas. *''One More Flight'' (1976, Warne popedid) —

from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators *'' The Presence: A Ghost Story'' (2003) *''S.O.S Titanic'' *'' The Lambkins'' (2005) *''That's What Leprechauns Do'' (2006) *''The Sixth Grade Sleepover'' — 1989 Sequoyah Children's Book Award *''

'' (1994), illustrated by David Díaz :A young boy wakes up in the middle of the night and his family is forced to leave their house due to riots. Despite hatred in the city, two families are bonded by the events. Díaz won the annual

for American children's illustration. *''So Far from the Sea'' (1998) — Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet :A young Japanese American girl visits her grandfather's grave at

Manzanar Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945. Although it had over 10,000 inmates at its peak, it was one o ...

with her parents and younger brother.Children's Book Review: So Far from the Sea
''Publishers Weekly'' *''Someone is Hiding on Alcatraz Island'' *''Spying on Miss Muller'' (1995) — Edgar nominee *''A Sudden Silence'' :Jesse Harmon searches for the hit-and-run serial killer who killed his brother Bry. *''The Summer of Riley'' (2001) * ''The Man with the Red Bag'' (2007)

Non-fiction

*''The Great White Shark'' (1982) *''The Sea World Book of Sharks'' (1984) *''The Sea World Book of Whales'' (1987) *''Skateboards: How to Make Them, How to Ride Them'' (1977)

References

External links

*
Complete Listing of Works by Eve BuntingEve Bunting BiographyEve Bunting InterviewVideo Interview with Eve BuntingMystery Writers of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunting, Eve 1928 births Living people American children's writers British children's writers Edgar Award winners Women novelists from Northern Ireland Writers from Pasadena, California People from Maghera American Protestants American women children's writers People educated at Methodist College Belfast 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland 20th-century novelists from Northern Ireland 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Northern Ireland emigrants to the United States