Tuck EverlastingAuthor: Natalie Babbitt
Publisher: Macmillian
Publication Date: 1975
About the novel
2015 marks the 40th anniversary of Natalie Babbitt’s celebrated, ground-breaking title Tuck Everlasting (Anniversary edition on sale January 20). In celebration of the anniversary, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group will publish a special anniversary edition featuring an introduction from Wicked author Gregory Maguire.
Tuck Everlasting asks readers “What if you could live forever?” Doomed to, or blessed with, eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less of a blessing than it might seem. Then complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.
Upon the book’s publication in 1975, Natalie was greeted with concern from parents and educators who were stunned to read a book about death written for children. She is an author who challenges her readers and thinks the best questions are the ones without answers.
This 40th anniversary will introduce a whole new generation to this timeless classic. The book has sold over 3.5 million copies in the US alone, and has never been out of print since publication.
What if I could live forever?I read Tuck Everlasting for the first time this year. I know, it seems like some kind of travesty never to have read this book, but it wasn't ever school reading and during my days aimlessly browsing the library I never came across it. I now want to make it my personal mission for elementary and middle schoolers to read this novel!
Tuck Everlasting handles death in a manner that is easy to understand and makes seriously tough subject matter seem simple. I loved that each character represented a decision and that the author left it to Winnie to decide for herself if she wanted to drink from the spring and live forever or if she wanted to live her life naturally.
One of the philosophical questions in Tuck Everlasting is if you could live forever would you? And my answer to that is no. Mr. Tuck does a great job explaining this to Winnie, there is a natural order to things; you are born, you live, and you die. If everyone got to live forever there would be too many people and we'd all be living atop one another. If I knew about the spring I wouldn't drink from it, after all forever is an awful long time.
About The AuthorNATALIE BABBITT is the award-winning author of Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Knee-Knock Rise, and many other brilliantly original books for young people. She began her career in 1966 as the illustrator of The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband. When her husband became a college president and no longer had time to collaborate, Babbitt tried her hand at writing. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with profound meaning. Knee-Knock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor, and in 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture. Natalie Babbitt lives in Connecticut, and is a grandmother of three.
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No, I would not want to live forever.
ReplyDeleteIf this world wasn't filled with such hate, I probably would have. Maybe in a different world I would. I can't see myself living forever in these times.
ReplyDeleteNo way I woukdnt wants o outlive my child. If I didn't have him he's I could just ice myself over but he's the only reason.
ReplyDeleteNo I wouldn't I look forward to the day I get to leave this earth for Heaven
ReplyDeleteNo!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best books ever. I wouldn't drink from the spring though. That's a scary thought.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved this story. Yes, I would drink from the spring--and not because I haven't considered the issues very deeply. I write a series myself in which immortality is a major theme. I don't own a copy of *Tuck Everlasting* and I'd love to have one. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I would, especially if I got to stay young forever.
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