Eve Bunting

1928 - 2023

December 19, 1928 - October 1, 2023 Beloved author Eve Bunting died on October 1, 2023, in Santa Cruz, California. She was ninety-four years old. The author of more than 250 books for young people, she was one of the most prolific and bestselling creators of children's literature. Her career spanned fifty years, with her latest book, Alligators, Alligators (Clarion Books, 2023), published this past August. Her books ranged from charming, rhyming animal stories and Irish folk tales to more serious titles focused on socially conscious topics such as homelessness, displacement, and environmental concerns. Many have been translated into multiple languages.

As a picture book author, Eve was fortunate to work with the very best illustrators. Her first book, The Two Giants (Ginn, 1971), was illustrated by folk legend Eric Von Schmidt, and over the years she collaborated with many other talented illustrators, including Jan Brett, Lauren Castillo, David Diaz, Ronald Himler, Emily Arnold McCully, Wendell Minor, Barry Moser, Sergio Ruzzier, Chris Soentpiet, and David Wiesner. Among her many honors and accolades were numerous state awards, the Kerlan Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, the Arab American Book Award, the Western Writers of America Award, the Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award, and a PEN Los Angeles Center Special Achievement Award for her contribution to children's literature. In addition, she was presented with the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for One More Flight (Frederick Warne, 1976), the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America for Coffin on a Case (HarperCollins,1991), and the Regina Medal in 1997 from the Catholic Library Association. She is also author of the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz (Clarion, 1994). A PBS production, Reading Rainbow: The Wall, inspired by Eve's book The Wall (Clarion, 1990) and presented by LeVar Burton, was a Peabody Award winner. Through these books and many more, Eve captivated readers with gentle, emotionally honest stories that reflected her warmth, humor, and deep respect for young people. Many of them are now considered classics.

Eve's personal life was full of adventure. Born in Northern Ireland in 1928, she grew up in the small town of Maghera, where her father was a farmer and merchant and her mother the local post mistress. Together they provided a lending library in the town and surrounded themselves with books of poetry. As a child, Eve was frequently asked to give oral recitals of verse and biblical writing, and this developed a sense of language and rhyme that sustained her through the many public talks, addresses, and readings she gave at professional conferences and libraries throughout her career and in the many writing courses she taught.

As a child, Eve entered Methodist College, Belfast, where she was a boarder from seven years old until graduation at eighteen, including all through World War II, during which the area experienced destructive bombing. At Queen's University Belfast, she met her husband, Edward, to whom she was married for sixty-three years when he passed in 2014. They lived in Scotland and Northern Ireland before emigrating with their three children in 1958 to California, land of opportunity. Living first in Sausalito, they later took up residence in Pasadena. While still raising her children, Eve began her writing career in her forties, after participating in a local community college writing course. Her gift for storytelling and beautifully cadenced writing soon brought her great publication success. Her writing, in turn, enabled many adventures, including studying whales and sharks along the California coast from the Goodyear Blimp, dog sledding in Alaska, and interviewing Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, a thrill for Eve, a longtime Dodgers baseball fan. Throughout the years, Eve traveled to almost every American state, meeting teachers and librarians, and she was adored by the children with whom she spoke. She was an active member of several professional writing groups, including her beloved "Lunch Bunch" in Southern California. For years, she was on the Board of Advisors for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Eve's literary papers and books are archived at the Kerlan Children's Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota.

Throughout her many years, Eve sustained lifelong friendships with girls from boarding school and made new ones with women in her senior living residence. She was deeply loved by friends and family. Eve is survived by her three children, Christine, Sloan, and Glenn, and their families, including six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She was a wonderful mom and grandma. Eve had a full and happy life filled with love and many personal achievements, and she leaves behind joyous and loving memories for her family, and a legacy of wonderful books for all children to enjoy. Her writing and spirit will live on with each new generation of young readers.