Natalie Babbitt (1932–2016)
Author of Tuck Everlasting
About the Author
Natalie Babbitt was born Natalie Zane Moore in Dayton, Ohio on July 28, 1932. As a child, she wanted to be an illustrator. She received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Smith College. She and her husband Sam Babbitt collaborated on a children's book The Forty-Ninth Magician, which was show more published in 1966. At the urging of her husband and her editor, she decided to write her own prose. Her first book as both author and illustrator was The Search for Delicious, which was published in 1969. Her novels included Goody Hall, The Devil's Storybook, Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Herbert Rowbarge, and The Moon Over High Street. She wrote and illustrated several picture books including Nellie: A Cat on Her Own; Bub, or, The Very Best Thing; and Elsie Times Eight. Kneeknock Rise was named a 1971 Newbery Honor book. In 2013, she won the inaugural E. B. White Award for achievement in children's literature. Tuck Everlasting was adapted as a Disney feature film in 2002 and made its debut as a Broadway musical in 2016. She also illustrated five books for Valerie Worth. She died of lung cancer on October 31, 2016 at the age of 84. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Used by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Series
Works by Natalie Babbitt
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Babbitt, Natalie
- Legal name
- Babbitt, Natalie Zane
- Other names
- Moore, Natalie Zane (birth)
- Birthdate
- 1932-07-28
- Date of death
- 2016-10-31
- Burial location
- Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Dayton, Ohio, USA
- Place of death
- Hamden, Connecticut, USA
- Cause of death
- cancer (lung)
- Places of residence
- Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Middletown, Ohio, USA
Clinton, New York, USA - Education
- Smith College (BA ∙ 1954)
- Occupations
- illustrator
children's book author - Relationships
- Babbitt, Samuel Fisher (spouse)
- Organizations
- National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance (board member)
PEN
Authors League of America
Authors Guild - Awards and honors
- Children's Literature Festival Award, Keene State College, for the body of her work (1993)
E. B. White Award (2012)
Newbery Honor (1971)
Christopher Award (1975)
Members
Discussions
fantasy fiction about a young man that never ages but falls in love with a girl that does in Name that Book (January 2018)
Reviews
I loved this. It never veered into cliché, although it could have. The ending rang true. The imagery was magical, just wonderful.
Deep children's book. To be immortal, to not change, is to not live, to be like a rock by the side of the road.
Winnie Foster, the ten-year-old protagonist of the story, contemplates eternity when she befriends the unique Tuck family. It's a short read, but Babbit sure packs a lot into it (mostly concerning one of Life's Big Questions: Would you want to live forever?). Beautifully written, with great fodder for future English majors (particularly the life-as-wheel motif).
And, despite all I've said about disliking audio books, this one was excellent. I got so into it that I took the CD inside with me when I got home so I could keep listening, even though I specifically got the audio book to keep me entertained during my commute.… (more)
And, despite all I've said about disliking audio books, this one was excellent. I got so into it that I took the CD inside with me when I got home so I could keep listening, even though I specifically got the audio book to keep me entertained during my commute.… (more)
Lists
Newbery Adjacent (1)
6th Grade (1)
For My Kids (1)
1970s (1)
Magic Realism (1)
Ryan's Books (1)
Overdue Podcast (1)
Elevenses (1)
Childhood books (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 32
- Also by
- 21
- Members
- 21,656
- Popularity
- #993
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 651
- ISBNs
- 312
- Languages
- 12
- Favorited
- 8
For her revolt, she refuses to get out of the bathtub once her mom throws a special party in her honor (which includes a dancing bear!!!).
I couldn't help but laugh because the picture of her sitting grumpily in the tub looks exactly like MY Phoebe who doesn't like getting her hair washed.