Eve Bunting
Eve Bunting (Evelyn Bolton, A E Bunting)was born in the small village of Maghera in Northern Ireland on December 19, 1928. She went to school in Ireland, and storytelling is a big part of her background. "There used to be Shanachies in the Ireland of long ago," she says. "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 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. Several years later, she enrolled in a writing class at her local community college, because she had the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting's first published story, Two Giants, focused on an Irish folktale about Finn McCool who out smarted Culcullan, a terrible Scottish giant. Since then, Bunting has continued the tradition of storytelling and has written over one hundred books for children and young adults. "I like to write for every child," she says. "For every age, for every interest. That is why I have such a variety of books -- from pre-school, through the middle grades and beyond." Bunting not only writes picture books, but she also has written novels, plays, chapter books, and non-fiction books.
Eve Bunting has received numerous awards, including the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in 1976 for One More Flight (Warne). In 1995 the Caldecott Medal was presented to David Diaz for his illustrations for her Smoky Night (Harcourt). Bunting's book One Green Apple was listed as one of the Best New Books for the Classroom according to the November 2006 issue of Book Links.Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA, and now resides in Pasadena, California.
References:
Book Links. Best new books for the classroom. Nov2006, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p6-12, 4p
Kidsread.com (1998-2008). Eve Bunting.
Scholastic (1996-2008). Eve Bunting Biography.
Eve Bunting Annotated Bibliography
Bunting, Eve. (1991). Fly Away Home. New York: Clarion Books.
A story through a young boy’s eyes living in poverty. He and his father live in an airport, always afraid of being found out. This book can be used in the classroom to teach children that different families live in different ways. It can be used to teach about diversity, and validate childrens’ lives that are similar to this.
Bunting, Eve. (1990). The Wall. New York: Clarion Books.
A story through a young boy’s eyes who visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with his father. They go in search of the boy’s grandfather’s name. Together, they learn about the wall and remember their loved one while others pass by doing the same. This book can be used in the classroom to teach about veterans and memorials, as well as war and its consequences.
Bunting, Eve. (1989). The Wednesday Surprise. New York: Clarion Books.
A story through a young girl’s eyes who is teaching her Grandmother to read on Wednesday nights. Teaching her grandma to read is a special birthday surprise for the girl’s father. This book can be used to show students how much of an impact one child can have on an adult’s life. This book also teaches that it is never too late to learn something new.
Bunting, Eve. (2001). Jin Woo.New York: Clarion Books.
A story through a young boy’s eyes whose parents are adopting a baby from Korea. He deals with the insecurity of losing attention from his parents, but learns through a special letter, that his parents have enough love for the both of them. This book can be used to help students ease their anxiety about having a new sibling.
Bunting, Eve. (1996). Secret Place. New York: Clarion Books.
A story through a young boy’s eyes who shares about a secret place in the city. This place is where nature thrives and escapes the hustle and bustle of the city. He learns the importance of guarding this place so it doesn’t change. This book can be used to teach about progression and how things have changed over time. It can also be used to teach children the importance of taking care of nature.