Now, granted, the positive and cheering ending, while definitely appreciated and welcomed, is perhaps and indeed also a bit too perfect and rather deus ex machina like. I can and do indeed appreciate them for what they are and what they represent, but both the colour schemes used and especially the presented facial expressions feel uncomfortable, unnatural, and while this might, indeed, somewhat mesh with and mirror the serious subject matter of the author's printed words, it is still and truly not all that pleasant a visual and aesthetic experience for me.Īnd thus, and on an entirely personal level, Smoky Night shines not so much because of the accompanying illustrations (although I do realise and appreciate that David Diaz won the Caldecott Medal for them), but more thanks to Eve Bunting's featured text, a glowing narrational evocation which while presenting the potential horrors (and possible tragedies) that can, that do result from violent rioting, bigotry, blatant stereotyping (from racism in general), also manages to achieve all this without ever being overly graphic or gratuitously violent. While I do find Eve Bunting's Smoky Night an impressive, very much evocative, thought-provoking (and also important) picture book experiment, and really, truly much appreciate that she has managed to pen a narrative about a potentially touchy if not even objectionable topic (race rioting, racial tensions) that is neither openly inflammatory nor overly depressing and tragic (but simply, basically matter of fact), I really do not all that much care for David Diaz' accompanying collage like illustrations. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children.

Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.īunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Bunting.Īnne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books.

Smoky night illustrations