Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting tells the story of a family who live forever after drinking from a magical spring. When Winnie Foster accidentally learns their secret, the Tucks try to convince her that living forever can be worse than you might originally think. The situation gets even more complicated when Winnie is followed by a mysterious stranger who wants to market the spring water to earn money. Natalie Babbitt wrote this story in a way that leaves it up to the reader to decide whether eternal life is a blessing or a curse. In an interview with Scholastic, the author named this story as the one she would recommend if you only ever read one of her books.
"Closing the gate on her oldest fears as she had closed the gate of her own fenced yard, she discovered the wings she'd always wished she had. And all at once she was elated. Where were the terrors she'd been told she should expect? She could not recognize them anywhere. The sweet earth opened out its wide four corners to her like the petals of a flower ready to be picked, and it shimmered with light and possibility till she was dizzy with it." --Tuck Everlasting
"Closing the gate on her oldest fears as she had closed the gate of her own fenced yard, she discovered the wings she'd always wished she had. And all at once she was elated. Where were the terrors she'd been told she should expect? She could not recognize them anywhere. The sweet earth opened out its wide four corners to her like the petals of a flower ready to be picked, and it shimmered with light and possibility till she was dizzy with it." --Tuck Everlasting
Ouch! A Tale from Grimm
This tale from Grimm has been given a fresh and witty retelling by Natalie Babbitt. It tells the story of Marco, a young man who starts out as nobody special and becomes someone extraordinary. However, Marco's journey to an unexpected place and the help he receives from the grandmother of a particularly notable character, are the elements that make this picture story book so engaging.
"Once again, it was lucky that Marco was so full of confidence because he was going to need it now more than ever. The King came home in the middle of things and when he saw what had happened, he was furious. But all at once he had an idea...And he grinned because he was sure the Devil would never let Marco come back." --Ouch! A Tale from Grimm
"Once again, it was lucky that Marco was so full of confidence because he was going to need it now more than ever. The King came home in the middle of things and when he saw what had happened, he was furious. But all at once he had an idea...And he grinned because he was sure the Devil would never let Marco come back." --Ouch! A Tale from Grimm
Kneeknock Rise
As soon as Egan arrives in Instep for the yearly fair, he is entranced by the tale surrounding the misty peak of Kneeknock Rise. On stormy nights when the rain is harsh and cold, an unidentifiable creature is heard moaning. No one who has gone to find the creature has returned. Regardless, Egan is drawn to find the answer to the mystery. This is a classic fable about a man's need to have something to believe in because science cannot and will not explain everything.
"But it's enough, just having this day. It's the knowing there's something different, something special up there waiting. It's the knowing you could choose to change your days--climb up there and throw yourself down the throat of the only and last and greatest terrible secret in the world. Except you don't climb." --Kneeknock Risep
"But it's enough, just having this day. It's the knowing there's something different, something special up there waiting. It's the knowing you could choose to change your days--climb up there and throw yourself down the throat of the only and last and greatest terrible secret in the world. Except you don't climb." --Kneeknock Risep
The Devil's Other Storybook
The Devil returns in The Devil's Other Storybook. There are ten new stories but the main character is just as vain and full of human failings as he was in The Devil's Storybook. The short tales are full of ups and downs because the Devil still has not gotten it through his head that a good soul is hard to come by. Natalie Babbitt tells this stories in a witty and playful way
"Now, the Devil isn't fond of fancy names like Lucifer, preferring simply to be called 'the Devil' or, once in a while, 'your highness.' And he certainly dislikes all disrespectful terms, of which Old Scratch is only one." --The Devil's Other Storybook
"Now, the Devil isn't fond of fancy names like Lucifer, preferring simply to be called 'the Devil' or, once in a while, 'your highness.' And he certainly dislikes all disrespectful terms, of which Old Scratch is only one." --The Devil's Other Storybook
The Eyes of Amaryllis
When the ship, Amaryllis, was swallowed in a hurricane, the captain and his whole crew were swallowed too. Geneva Reade, the captain's widow, waited thirty years for her husband to send her a message from the bottom of the ocean. She meets a lost man named Seward who has been watching her. Soon, Geneva, her granddaughter Jenny, and Seward are drawn into a deadly game with one another and the sea, a game that only the sea knows how to win.
"Listen, all you people lying lazy on the beach, is this what you imagine is the meaning of the sea? Oh yes, it winks and sparkles as it sways beside you, spreading lacy foam, and these tender cowrie shells as pearly as baby's toes? But listen. That is not the meaning of the sea." --The Eyes of Amaryllis
"Listen, all you people lying lazy on the beach, is this what you imagine is the meaning of the sea? Oh yes, it winks and sparkles as it sways beside you, spreading lacy foam, and these tender cowrie shells as pearly as baby's toes? But listen. That is not the meaning of the sea." --The Eyes of Amaryllis
Complete List of Books Natalie Babbitt Wrote and Co-Wrote
1967 - Dick Foote and the Shark
1968 - Phoebe's Revolt 1969 - The Search for Delicious 1970 - Kneeknock Rise 1970 - The Something 1971 - Goody Hall 1974 - The Devil's Storybook 1975 - Tuck Everlasting 1977 - The Eyes of Amaryllis 1982 - Herbert Rowbarge |
1987 - The Devil's Other Story Book
1989 - Nellie: A Cat on Her Own 1990 - The Big Book for Peace (co-written with Lloyd Alexander) 1994 - Bub: Or the Very Best Thing 1998 - Ouch! A Tale from Grimm 2001 - Elsie Times Eight 2007 - Jack Plank Tells Tales 2011 - The Moon Over High Street 2012 - The Devil's Storybooks (combines the other two Devil's books) |
Complete List of Books Natalie Babbitt Illustrated
1966 - The Forty-Ninth Magician
1972 - Small Poems 1976 - More Small Poems 1978 - Still More Small Poems 1980 - Curlicues: The Fortunes of Two Pug Dogs 1985 - Small Poems Again |
1985 - Small Poems Again
1986 - Other Small Poems Again 1987 - All the Small Poems 1990 - The Big Book for Peace 1994 - All the Small Poems and Fourteen More 2002 - Peacock and Other Poems |