Bunting, Eve
Eve Bunting
Personal
Born December 19, 1928, in Maghera, Northern Ireland; came to the United States, 1960; became U.S. citizen; daughter of Sloan Edmund (a merchant) and Mary (Canning) Bolton; married Edward Davison Bunting (a medical administrator), April 26, 1951; children: Christine, Sloan, Glenn. Education: Graduated from Methodist College, Belfast, 1945; also attended Queen's University, Belfast. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Protestant.
Addresses
Home and office—1512 Rose Villa St., Pasadena, CA 91106.
Career
Freelance writer, 1969—. University of California, Los Angeles, teacher of writing, 1978-79; instructor at writing conferences.
Member
PEN International, Society of Children's Book Writers (board member), California Writer 's Guild, Southern California Council on Writing for Children and Young People.
Awards, Honors
Barney the Beard named an Honor Book by the Chicago Book Clinic; Golden Kite Award, Society of Children's Book Writers, for best fiction book, Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children, and Outstanding Social Science Book for Children from National Council for Social Studies/Children's Book Council, all 1976, all for One More Flight; Children's Book of the Year awards from Child Study Association of America, 1976, for One More Flight, 1979, for The Big Red Barn, 1981, for Goose Dinner and The Waiting Game, 1986, for The Valentine Bears, and 1987, for The Mother's Day Mice and Sixth Grade Sleepover; Winter's Coming named among New York Times Top Ten Books of 1977; Golden Kite award, and Best Fiction Book for Children designation, Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People, both 1977, both for Ghost of Summer; If I Asked You, Would You Stay? selected among American Library Association (ALA) Best Books for Young Adults, 1984; PEN Special Achievement Award, 1984, for contribution to children's literature; Nene Award, Hawaii Association of School Librarians/Hawaii Library Association, 1986, forKaren Kepplewhite Is the World's Best Kisser; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year designation, 1986, for The Mother's Day Mice, and 1989, for The Wednesday Surprise; Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award for Excellence in a Series, 1986, for "Lippincott Page Turners" series; Parents' Choice Award, Parents' Choice Foundation, 1988, for The Mother's Day Mice; Virginia Young Readers Award, 1988-89, California Reading Association Young Readers Medal, 1989, and South Carolina Association of School Librarians Young-Adult Book Award, 1988-89, all for Face at the Edge of the World; Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award for Outstanding Work of Fiction for Young Adults, 1989, for A Sudden Silence; Oklahoma Library Association Sequoyah Children's Book Award, Missouri Association of School Librarians Mark Twain Award, and Florida Association for Media in Education Sunshine State Young Readers Award, all 1989, all for Sixth Grade Sleepover; ALA Best Book for Young Adults and Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Readers, and New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, all 1992, all for Jumping the Nail; Smoky Night awarded the Caldecott Medal, 1995, for illustrations by David Diaz; Western Writers of America Storyteller Award, 1995, for Dandelions; Regina Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Children's Literature, Catholic Library Association, 1997; Sydney Taylor Children's Book Award Honor Book in older readers category, Association of Jewish Libraries, 2002, for One Candle.
Writings
FOR CHILDREN
The Once-a-Year Day, Golden Gate (San Carlos, CA), 1974.
The Wild One, Scholastic Book Services (New York, NY), 1974.
(Under name A. E. Bunting) High Tide for Labrador, Golden Gate (San Carlos, CA), 1975.
Barney the Beard, Parents' Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1975.
The Skateboard Four, Albert Whitman (Chicago, IL), 1976.
One More Flight, illustrated by Diane De Groat, Warne (New York, NY), 1976.
Blacksmith at Blueridge, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1976.
Josefina Finds the Prince, illustrated by Jan Palmer, Garrard (Champaign, IL), 1976.
Skateboard Saturday, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1976.
(With Glenn Bunting) Skateboards: How to Make Them, How to Ride Them, Harvey House (New York, NY), 1977.
The Big Cheese, illustrated by Sal Murdocca, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1977.
Winter's Coming, illustrated by Howard Knotts, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1977.
Ghost of Summer, illustrated by W. T. Mars, Warne (New York, NY), 1977.
Cop Camp, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1977.
The Haunting of Kildoran Abbey, Warne (New York, NY), 1978.
Magic and the Night River, Harper (New York, NY), 1978.
Going against Cool Calvin, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1978.
The Big Find, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Yesterday's Island, Warne (New York, NY), 1979.
The Big Red Barn, illustrated by Knotts, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1979.
Blackbird Singing, illustrated by Steven Gammell, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1979.
The Sea World Book of Sharks, photographs by Flip Nicklin, Sea World Press (San Diego, CA), 1979.
The Sea World Book of Whales, Sea World Press (San Diego, CA), 1979.
Terrible Things, Harper (New York, NY), 1980, revised as Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust, Jewish Publication Society (Philadelphia, PA), 1989.
St. Patrick's Day in the Morning, illustrated by Jan Brett, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1980.
Demetrius and the Golden Goblet, illustrated by Michael Hague, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1980.
The Robot Birthday, illustrated by Marie DeJohn, Dutton (New York, NY), 1980.
The Skate Patrol, Albert Whitman (Chicago, IL), 1980.
The Skate Patrol Rides Again, illustrated by Don Madden, Albert Whitman (Chicago, IL), 1981.
Goose Dinner, illustrated by Knotts, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1981.
The Empty Window, illustrated by Judy Clifford, Warne (New York, NY), 1981.
The Happy Funeral, illustrated by Mai Vo-Dinh, Harper (New York, NY), 1981.
Rosie and Mr. William Star, Houghton (Boston, MA) 1981.
Jane Martin, Dog Detective, illustrated by Amy Schwartz, Garrard (Champaign, IL) 1981.
Jane Martin and the Case of the Ice Cream Dog, Garrard (Champaign, IL) 1981.
The Spook Birds, illustrated by Kathleen Tucker, Albert Whitman (Chicago, IL), 1981.
The Giant Squid, Messner (New York, NY), 1981.
The Great White Shark, Messner (New York, NY), 1982.
The Skate Patrol and the Mystery Writer, illustrated by Don Madden, Albert Whitman (Chicago, IL), 1982.
Karen Kepplewhite Is the World's Best Kisser, Clarion (New York, NY), 1983.
The Traveling Men of Ballycoo, illustrated by Kaethe Zemach, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1983.
The Valentine Bears, illustrated by Jan Brett, Clarion (New York, NY), 1983.
Ghost behind Me, Archway (New York, NY), 1984.
The Man Who Could Call Down Owls, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1984.
Monkey in the Middle, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1984.
Someone Is Hiding on Alcatraz Island, Clarion (New York, NY), 1984.
Surrogate Sister, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1984.
Clancy's Coat, Clarion (New York, NY), 1984.
Face at the Edge of the World, Clarion (New York, NY), 1985.
Sixth Grade Sleepover, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1986.
Scary, Scary Halloween, Clarion (New York, NY), 1986.
The Mother's Day Mice, Clarion (New York, NY), 1986.
Janet Hamm Needs a Date for the Dance, Clarion (New York, NY), 1986.
Will You Be My POSSLQ?, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1987.
Ghost's Hour, Spook's Hour, Clarion (New York, NY), 1987.
Happy Birthday, Dear Duck, Clarion (New York, NY), 1988.
A Sudden Silence, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1988.
How Many Days to America?: A Thanksgiving Story, Clarion (New York, NY), 1988.
Is Anybody There?, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1988.
The Ghost Children, Clarion (New York, NY), 1989.
No Nap, Clarion (New York, NY), 1989.
The Wednesday Surprise, Clarion (New York, NY), 1989.
In the Haunted House, Clarion (New York, NY), 1990.
Our Sixth-Grade Sugar Babies, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1990.
Such Nice Kids, Clarion (New York, NY), 1990.
The Wall, Clarion (New York, NY), 1990.
Night Tree, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1991.
A Turkey for Thanksgiving, Clarion (New York, NY), 1991.
Fly away Home, Clarion (New York, NY), 1991.
The Hideout, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1991.
Jumping the Nail, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1991.
Sharing Susan, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.
A Perfect Father's Day, Clarion (New York, NY), 1991.
The Mask, Child's World (Mankato, MN), 1992.
Summer Wheels, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1992.
Our Teacher's Having a Baby, Clarion (New York, NY), 1992.
The Bicycle Man, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1992.
Coffin on a Case, Harper (New York, NY), 1992.
The Day before Christmas, Clarion (New York, NY), 1992.
Someday a Tree, Clarion (New York, NY), 1993.
Survival Camp, Child's World (Mankato, MN), 1993.
Red Fox Running, Clarion (New York, NY), 1993.
Night of the Gargoyles, Clarion (New York, NY), 1994.
A Day's Work, Clarion (New York, NY), 1994.
Sunshine Home, Clarion (New York, NY), 1994.
Nasty Stinky Sneakers, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.
The In-between Days, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.
Flower Garden, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1994.
Smoky Night, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1994.
Dandelions, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1995.
Cheyenne Again, Clarion (New York, NY), 1995.
Once upon a Time, R. C. Owen (Katonah, NY), 1995.
Spying on Miss Muller, Clarion (New York, NY), 1995.
Sunflower House, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1996.
Going Home, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.
Train to Somewhere, Clarion (New York, NY), 1996.
Trouble on the T-ball Team, Clarion (New York, NY), 1996.
The Blue and the Gray, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.
SOS Titanic, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1996.
Market Day, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.
I Don't Want to Go to Camp, illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1996.
I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefer, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1997.
Moonstick, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.
Secret Place, Clarion (New York, NY), 1997.
Twinnies, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1997.
On Call Back Mountain, illustrated by Barry Moser, Blue Sky (New York, NY), 1997.
My Backpack, illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler, Boyds Mills (Honesdale, PA), 1997.
December, illustrated by David Diaz, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1997.
Ducky, illustrated by David Wisniewski, Clarion (New York, NY), 1997.
The Pumpkin Fair, illustrated by Eileen Christelow, Clarion (New York, NY), 1997.
Your Move, illustrated by James Ransome, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1998.
The Day the Whale Came, illustrated by Scott Menchin, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1998.
So Far from the Sea, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, Clarion (New York, NY), 1998.
Some Frog!, illustrated by Scott Medlock, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1998.
Blackwater, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 1999.
I Have an Olive Tree, illustrated by Karen Barbour, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story, illustrated by Ben Stahl, BridgeWater Books (Mahwah, NJ), 1999.
Butterfly House, illustrated by Greg Shed, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.
Can You Do This, Old Badger?, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.
A Picnic in October, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.
Rudi's Pond, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Clarion (New York, NY), 1999.
Peepers, illustrated by James Ransome, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2000.
Wanna Buy an Alien?, illustrated by Tim Bush, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.
I Like the Way You Are, illustrated by John O'Brien, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.
Dear Wish Fairy, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.
Doll Baby, illustrated by Catherine Stock, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.
The Memory String, illustrated by Ted Rand, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.
Who Was Born This Special Day?, illustrated by Leonid Gore, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2000.
Swan in Love, illustrated by Jo Ellen McAllister-Stammen, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2000.
Too Many Monsters, illustrated by James Bernardin, Troll/BridgeWater Books (Mahwah, NJ), 2001.
We Were There, paintings by Wendell Minor, Clarion (New York, NY), 2001.
The Days of Summer, illustrated by William Low, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2001.
Gleam and Glow, illustrated by Peter Sylvada, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2001.
Jin Woo, illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet, Clarion (New York, NY), 2001.
Riding the Tiger, illustrated by David Frampton, Clarion (New York, NY), 2001.
The Summer of Riley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.
Little Badger: Terror of the Seven Seas, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2001.
Little Badger's Just-about Birthday, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.
The Bones of Fred Mcfee, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.
One Candle, illustrated by K. Wendy Popp, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Sing a Song of Piglets: A Calendar in Verse, pictures by Emily Arnold McCully, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Christmas Cricket, illustrated by Timothy Bush, Clarion (New York, NY), 2002.
Girls: A to Z, illustrated by Suzanne Bloom, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2002.
Little Bear's Little Boat, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, Clarion (New York, NY), 2003.
My Big Boy Bed, pictures by Maggie Smith, Clarion (New York, NY), 2003.
Anna's Table, illustrated by Taia Morley, NorthWord Press (Chanhassen, MN), 2003.
The Presence, Clarion (New York, NY), 2003.
Snowboarding on Monster Mountain, Cricket Books (Chicago, IL), 2003.
Whales Passing, illustrated by Lambert Davis, Blue Sky Press (New York, NY), 2003.
The Wedding, illustrated by Iza Trapani, Whispering Coyote (Watertown, MA) 2003.
I Love You, Too!, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2004.
"MAGIC CIRCLE" SERIES
The Two Giants, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1972.
A Gift for Lonny, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1973.
Box, Fox, Ox, and the Peacock, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1974.
Say It Fast, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1974.
We Need a Bigger Zoo!, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1974.
"DINOSAUR MACHINE" SERIES
The Day of the Dinosaurs, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1975.
Death of a Dinosaur, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1975.
The Dinosaur Trap, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1975.
Escape from Tyrannosaurus, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1975.
"NO SUCH THINGS?" SERIES
The Creature of Cranberry Cove, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1976.
The Demon, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1976.
The Ghost, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1976.
The Tongue of the Ocean, EMC Corp. (St. Paul, MN), 1976.
"EVE BUNTING SCIENCE FICTION" SERIES
The Day of the Earthlings, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Followers, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Island of One, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Mask, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Mirror Planet, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Robot People, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Space People, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Undersea People, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
"EVE BUNTING YOUNG ROMANCE" SERIES
Fifteen, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
For Always, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
The Girl in the Painting, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Just like Everyone Else, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Maggie the Freak, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Nobody Knows but Me, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Oh, Rick, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
A Part of the Dream, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Survival Camp!, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
Two Different Girls, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1978.
"LIPPINCOTT PAGE TURNERS" SERIES
The Cloverdale Switch, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1979, published as Strange Things Happen in the Woods, Harper (New York, NY), 1984.
The Waiting Game, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1981.
The Ghosts of Departure Point, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1982.
If I Asked You, Would You Stay?, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1984.
The Haunting of SafeKeep, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1985.
UNDER NAME A. E. BUNTING; "HIGH POINT" SERIES
Pitcher to Center Field, Elk Grove Books (Chicago, IL), 1974.
Surfing Country, Elk Grove Books (Chicago, IL), 1975.
Springboard to Summer, Elk Grove Books (Chicago, IL), 1975.
UNDER NAME EVELYN BOLTON; "EVELYN BOLTON HORSE BOOK" SERIES
Stable of Fear, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1974.
Lady's Girl, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1974.
Goodbye Charlie, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1974.
Ride When You're Ready, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1974, published under name Eve Bunting, Child's World (Mankato, MN), 1992.
The Wild Horses, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1974, published under name Eve Bunting, Child's World (Mankato, MN), 1992.
Dream Dancer, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1974.
OTHER
Contributor of stories to basal readers published by several educational houses, including Heath, Laid-law Brothers, Lyons & Carnahan, and Rand McNally. Contributor to anthologies, including Cricket's Choice, 1975, and Scribner's Anthology for Young People. Contributor of adult and juvenile stories to magazines.
Adaptations
How Many Days to America? was adapted as a film, Coronet/MTI Film and Video, 1991; A Face at the Edge of the World was adapted as the television movie A Desperate Exit.
Sidelights
Prolific is an adjective often used to describe children's writer Eve Bunting. The author of over two hundred titles, Bunting has entertained children in genres ranging from mystery to science fiction to contemporary problem stories. Proficient in picture books, middle-grade readers, and young-adult novels, she has won a flotilla of awards in a career that has spanned over three decades. And Bunting's choice of protagonists has been as diverse as her choice of genre: She has featured African-American, Chinese-American, Japanese, Jewish, Caucasian, Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, and Irish protagonists within her novels and picture books. "I like to write for every child," Bunting noted in an essay published in the St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers. "For every age, for every interest. That is why I have such a variety of books—from preschool, through the middle grades and beyond. The young adult novels I write border on the true adult novel, but I enjoy keeping my protagonists in their upper teens, where lives are new and filled with challenge, where nothing is impossible." Bunting elaborated on her ability to reach diverse audiences in an interview with a contributor for Top of the News: "There is no special secret to writing for all age levels. You climb inside the head and the heart of the young person in your story. You think like that child. You feel like that child. You are that child."
An Irish Childhood
Bunting was born in Maghera, Northern Ireland, where her father was a well-to-do merchant. When she was nine years old, she was sent to boarding school, where she often entertained the other girls by telling stories and tall tales in the evenings. "It was certainly there that I developed my life-long love of books and reading," she explained in the Junior Literary Guild. Bunting also commented in Writer magazine that her talents benefitted from the fact that "the educational system in Ireland is geared to the 'essay answer' in examinations, and at that I had always excelled." In her St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers essay, Bunting also noted that "there used to be Shanachies in the Ireland of long ago. The Shanachie was the storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I'm a bit of a Shanachie myself, telling my stories to anyone who'll listen."
In the early 1940s Bunting attended Methodist College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After her graduation in 1945, she went on to study at Queen's University in the same city. There she met Edward Davison Bunting, who became her husband in 1951. After their marriage, the couple moved to Scotland, where they started their family. In 1959, Bunting, her husband, and their three children emigrated to the United States, living first in San Francisco, California, then moving south to settle in Pasadena.
Once in her new country, Bunting noticed that a local community college was offering a class in writing for publication, and she decided to sign up. As she described in Writer, "I find myself sometimes thinking what different turns my life might have taken had I not seen that junior college brochure." By 1972, Bunting had published her first book for children, The Two Giants, a book dealing with the legendary Irish and Scottish giants Finn McCool and Culcullan, and marking the beginning of Bunting's "Magic Circle" series.
From Irish Myth to American Drama
As she did with The Two Giants, Bunting frequently uses either the stories or the scenery of her native Northern Ireland in her books. She explained in Writer that her book Ghost of Summer "is set in contemporary Northern Ireland with its political upheaval, its senseless hatreds and killings in the name of religion." As she elaborated in the Junior Literary Guild: "I tried to write a story that children would find exciting but that would also show them the insidious horror of prejudice and the tragedy of a people torn apart by old hatreds. I tried to be objective, to be fair in showing both sides of the Irish problem. I hope no child reading it will know if the author is Protestant or Catholic. I hope no child reading it will care. I put into Ghost of Summer the feelings I have for Ireland; the love and the sorrow."
It did not, however, take Bunting long to find new and often hard-hitting themes in her adopted country. Going against Cool Calvin, for instance, concerns a Mexican teenager who is an illegal alien in the United States. She also takes on controversial issues, such as teenage prostitution in If I Asked You, Would You Stay?, "perhaps one of Bunting's most successful books," according to a contributor to St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers. This unusual tale features two runaways who manage to turn an uneasy friendship into love. Bunting deals with surrogate motherhood in Surrogate Sister, and teenage suicide in Face at the Edge of the World. Alcoholic abuse and the destruction it wreaks are at the center of her A Sudden Silence. And in Would You Be My POSSLQ, she features a plucky young college freshman who sets up an unusual living arrangement with a Person of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters. As Bunting admitted in Writer: "I can spot a trend long before it comes. . . . Ninety percent of my story seeds come from something I've read in my daily paper or in my weekly periodical." But in another Writer article, she cautioned against focusing on a particular topic to the detriment of writing a good story: "If you set out to write a book that you don't care about just because the subject matter is 'hot,' you're heading for disappointment." Concerning her book Face at the Edge of the World, she elaborated: "This is not [just] a book about suicide. It is a story of love, of two people finding themselves and each other and making major decisions about their lives."
Bunting also uses her picture books to drive home serious themes, as with her 1995 work Smoky Night—winner of the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations by David Diaz—in which she examines the 1992 Los Angeles riot as seen through a child's eyes. This "troubling and curiously affectless picture book," New York Times critic Selma G. Lanes commented, "attempts to make the chaos and confusion of those turbulent days more comprehensible to children." A Los Angeles Times contributor expressed appreciation for the work, noting that both author and illustrator "deserve honor not just as artists but also as healers." In other picture books, such as 2002's One Candle, Bunting continues to deal with serious topics—in this instance the Holocaust—and confronts issues brought up by the Vietnam War Memorial in The Wall. In Gleam and Glow Bunting uses the picture-book format to deal with the devastation wrought by the war in Bosnia. Booklist contributor GraceAnne A. DeCandido found that this picture book for older readers serves as an "effective tale of loss and hope." Likewise, a reviewer for Publishers Weekly felt that the "image of hope and renewal strikes a strong keynote in Bunting's bittersweet story," and that the author's narrative "brims with poetic similes."
From Aliens to Ghosts
In addition to drawing from current events and history, Bunting can also write out of nostalgia, for thrills and chills, or for just plain fun. In Coffin on a Case! twelve-year-old Henry Coffin, the son of a private investigator, helps a gorgeous high-school girl in her dangerous attempt to find her kidnaped mother. As Henry narrates the story, aiming to emulate the wit and swagger of his hero, Sam Spade, the mystery "unfolds skillfully and swiftly, aided by a breezy, humorous style," commented School Library Journal contributor Connie Tyrrell Burns. "This is a cheerful homage to hard-boiled detecting," noted Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books reviewer Deborah Stevenson, "with its own twists and charm." In Spying on Miss Muller Bunting mines memories of her days in boarding school in Ireland, spinning a tale about a similar school located in Belfast that takes place during World War II. In her story, the school's once-adored language teacher, Miss Muller, is now looked upon by everyone at the school with suspicion because of her German heritage. Her late-night walks also seem to come at the same time as German air raids; thus the girls begin to suspect her of being a spy and start investigating her. Reviewing Spying on Miss Muller, a contributor to Publishers Weekly maintained that there is "much to enjoy here," especially the "school ambience deftly conveyed in numerous small details." Similarly, Horn Book reviewer Martha V. Parravano called the book a "thoughtful, moving, coming-of-age novel . . . portrayed with page-turning immediacy."
With her 1996 novel SOS Titanic Bunting focuses on fifteen-year-old Barry O'Neill, who is traveling from Ireland to New York on the ill-fated ocean liner. Barry already misses his grandparents who have raised him for the last ten years, and is anxious about rejoining his parents. Added to this are his apprehensions about the Flynn brothers, who are traveling in steerage and are antagonistic toward him. When tragedy strikes the luxury ship, it is funneled through the emotions and actions of Barry in this "well-wrought historical fiction," as a reviewer for Publishers Weekly described the novel. Booklist's Debbie Carton also had positive words for SOS Titanic, noting that "Bunting accurately and dramatically describes the ship's sinking and, at the same time, immerses readers in the many human tragedies."
Lighter in tone is Wanna Buy an Alien?, a book aimed at middle-grade readers. Ben gets an intergalactic present for his eleventh birthday in Bunting's "suspenseful science fiction tale," as Judith Everitt noted in School Library Journal. Another eleven year old sets off on an adventure of a different sort in The Summer of Riley. A stray dog comes into William's life just when he needs it most: his grandfather has just died and his parents are separating. But when Riley, the dog, proves to be a hazard to animals on nearby farms, William must sacrifice him to a dog trainer in order to save the dog from being put down. Carol Schene, reviewing the novel for School Library Journal, praised Bunting for capturing "the dilemma of our contemporary society, which wants simple solutions to complex situations, often demands perfection and rejects anything less." A contributor to Publishers Weekly found the novel "heartwarming despite some heavy touches," and Booklist reviewer Chris Sherman praised the book's "bittersweet but satisfying resolution."10
The 2003 novel The Presence: A Ghost Story deals with death and loss. Catherine is seventeen years old and still grieves the loss of her friend Kirsty in a car accident in which the other girl was killed while she, Catherine, was only injured. Now visiting her grandmother in California, Catherine is looking for peace, but ends up finding the challenge of her life in the form of Noah, a ghost from the nineteenth century who refers to himself as "The Presence." Noah channels Kirsty for Catherine, and details of the accident as well as of Noah's life are dealt with in alternating narratives. But Noah also has nefarious plans for Catherine, and when an older woman warns her about other girls who resemble her who have gone missing in the town recently, the teen is put on guard. Yet at first she vacillates: is Noah real or is she having a nervous breakdown? Susan Riley, writing in School Library Journal, had high praise for The Presence, as well as for its author. "Bunting," Riley wrote, "long a favorite of teen thrill seekers, has produced another winner in this well-written story of acute loneliness, alienation, romance, the occult, hope, and tragedy." A Kirkus Reviews critic found the novel "memorable," while Kliatt contributor Claire Rosser dubbed it "a quick read and satisfyingly spooky."
Such praise has been typical for the author. "Reviewers generally praise Bunting books," according to Allen Raymond, writing in Early Years. "Whether it is due to the clarity and liveliness of the dialogue, to the real-life situations in which the author puts her characters, or whether it is the moral approach to difficult choices, there is something about her books which brings praise" from many reviewers.
[Image not available for copyright reasons]
One of the reasons for this consistent praise has been Bunting's attitude toward delivering theme and message. Speaking with Stefanie Weiss of NEA Today, she noted: "I don't ever start off to give a message in my books, although often it must seem as though I do. I like to write about loving and caring and how both can ease everyone's way through life. Maybe that sounds Pollyanish, maybe it's optimism carded to the nth degree, but that's what I want to do."
If you enjoy the works of Eve Bunting
If you enjoy the works of Eve Bunting, you may also want to check out the following books:
Richard Peck, Remembering the Good Times, 1985.
Lois Lowry, Number the Stars, 1989.
Shelley Stoehr, Crosses, 1991.
Biographical and Critical Sources
BOOKS
Children's Literature Review, Gale (Detroit, MI), Volume 28, 1992, Volume 56, 1999, Volume 82, 2003.
Cullinan, Bernice E., and Diane G. Person, editors, Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, Continuum Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.
St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.
Silvey, Anita, editor, Children's Books and Their Creators, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June 15, 1978; March 1, 1984, p. 966; March 15, 1995, Ilene Cooper, review of Spying on Miss Muller, p. 1328; March 15, 1996, Debbie Carton, review of SOS Titanic, p. 1352; July, 2001, Chris Sherman, review of The Summer of Riley, p. 2004; December 15, 2001, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Gleam and Glow, p. 738; October 15, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of The Presence: A Ghost Story, p. 404; January 1, 2004, Jennifer Locke, review of Snowboarding on Monster Mountain, p. 852.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November, 1992, Deborah Stevenson, review of Coffin on a Case!, p. 69.
Early Years, October, 1986.
Horn Book, April, 1984, p. 181; September-October, 1995, Martha V. Parravano, review of Spying on Miss Muller, p. 596.
Junior Literary Guild, March, 1977; March, 1987.
Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2003, review of The Presence, p. 1121.
Kliatt, September, 2003, Claire Rosser, review of The Presence, p. 6.
Lion and the Unicorn, June, 1988.
Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1979; February 20, 1995, p. 4.
NEA Today, April, 1995, Stefanie Weiss, "Eve Bunting: Suitable for Children?," p. 7.
New York Times, May 21, 1995, p. 25.
Publishers Weekly, April 3, 1995, review of Spying on Miss Muller, p. 62; February 5, 1996, p. 89; March 18, 1996, review of SOS Titanic, p. 70; August 6, 1999, review of Blackwater, p. 86; April 3, 2000, review of Wanna Buy an Alien?, p. 81; May 21, 2001, review of The Summer of Riley, p. 108; August 20, 2001, review of Gleam and Glow, p. 80; September 29, 2003, review of The Presence, p. 66.
Reading Today, February-March, 2002, Lynne T. Burke, review of Gleam and Glow, p. 32.
School Library Journal, September, 1978; October, 1992, Connie Tyrrell Burns, review of Coffin on a Case!, p. 112; August, 2000, Judith Everitt, review of Wanna Buy an Alien?, p. 177; June, 2001, Carol Schene, review of The Summer of Riley, p. 143; October, 2003, Jennifer Ralston, review of Your Move, p. 97, Susan Riley, review of The Presence, p. 162.
Top of the News, winter, 1986, pp. 132-134.
Writer, April, 1979, Eve Bunting, "New Trends in Children's Books"; April, 1984, Eve Bunting, "What's New in Children's Books?"; September, 1988, Eve Bunting, "Think Picture Book."
ONLINE
BookPage,http://www.bookpage.com/ (September 10, 2004), Alice Cary, "A Talk with Eve Bunting."
KidsRead.com,http://www.kidsread.com/ (September 11, 2004), "Eve Bunting."
Scoop,http://www.friend.ly.net/scoop/ (September 10, 2004), "Eve Bunting."*