Remembering Eve Bunting

From the very earliest days of the SCBWI Eve strongly supported our young organization by speaking at our conferences, offering encouragement to those new to the field, and by serving for many years as a member of our Advisory Council.

Over the course of her long, and productive life she received numerous awards including a 1976 SCBWI Golden Kite for her book, One More Flight, and in 1995 her book Smoky Night, the story of the Los Angeles riots, illustrated by David Diaz, was a recipient of the Caldecott Medal.

Born in Northern Ireland she moved to the United States in 1958 and began writing soon after. Primarily an author of picture books, she was a pioneer in that field, by often taking on serious subjects such as homelessness, racial prejudice, and sorrow. She was once quoted as saying,  

“I like to write picture books that make young people ponder, and that encourage them to ask questions.”

She achieved that, and more, by enlightening the minds of generations of young readers, and often, by changing their very lives.

Eve Bunting will be surely missed, but her legacy will long endure in the hearts of those who she has touched with her words and her wisdom.

Lin Oliver, a longtime friend, said. “We were all so lucky to have Eve Bunting’s lyrical, lilting voice as part of our lives and the lives of our children.”