Tuck Everlasting (A Sunburst book) [Paperback]

Natalie Babbitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1985 | Age Range: 10 and up | Series: A Sunburst book | Lexile Measure: 770L (What's this?)

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 a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a starnger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune

Other books by the renowned children's author Natalie Babbitt include Goody Hall, Kneeknock Rise, The Devil's Storybook, The Devil's Other Storybook, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, and The Search for Delicious.

An American Library Association Notable Children's Book
Winner of a Christopher Award for Books for Young Readers

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.

But when ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles upon their secret, the Tucks must take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Much trouble arises when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

This short novel, so moving and artfully composed, first appeared a generation ago. It has since become a young adult classic.

"Rarely does one find a book with such prose. Flawless in both style and structure, it is rich in imagery and punctuated with light fillips of humor. The author manipulates her plot deftly, dealing with six main characters brought together because of a spring whose waters can bestow everlasting life . . . Underlying the drama is the dilemma of the age-old desire for perpetual youth."—The Horn Book

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Imagine coming upon a fountain of youth in a forest. To live forever--isn't that everyone's ideal? For the Tuck family, eternal life is a reality, but their reaction to their fate is surprising. Award winner Natalie Babbitt (Knee-Knock Rise, The Search for Delicious) outdoes herself in this sensitive, moving adventure in which 10-year-old Winnie Foster is kidnapped, finds herself helping a murderer out of jail, and is eventually offered the ultimate gift--but doesn't know whether to accept it. Babbitt asks profound questions about the meaning of life and death, and leaves the reader with a greater appreciation for the perfect cycle of nature. Intense and powerful, exciting and poignant, Tuck Everlasting will last forever--in the reader's imagination. An ALA Notable Book. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Rarely does one find a book with such prose. Flawless in both style and structure, it is rich in imagery and punctuated with light fillips of humor. The author manipulates her plot deftly, dealing with six main characters brought together because of a spring whose waters can bestow everlasting life. . .Underlying the drama is the dilemma of the age-old desire for perpetual youth." --The Horn Book

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (November 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374480095
• ISBN-13: 978-0374480097
• Product Dimensions: 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,373 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A gifted artist and writer, Natalie Babbitt's novels are inspired by a brilliance and imagination that is completely original. She began her career in 1966 with the publication of a picture book, The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband, Samuel Fisher Babbitt. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with a more profound meaning embedded within them. Kneeknock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor Medal, but it is Tuck Everlasting which has insured Babbitt's place in the history of children's literature. This modern classic, which has also been made recently into a major motion picture starring Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, and Sissy Spacek, asks an enduring and powerful question: If we could live forever, would we want to? Babbitt has written six more novels including The Eyes of the Amaryllis and Goody Hall-each one presenting her unique vision of an enchanted world. Her latest novel, Jack Plank Tells Tales, was published in Spring 2007. Natalie Babbitt lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a grandmother of three. When asked what she wants readers to remember about her books, she replied, 'the questions without answers.'

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 90 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting. April 16, 2001

By Erin VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

My one word to describe this story: enchanting. It's the kind of story that a child would dream up laying on moon-drenched grass on a summer evening... you know, the kind that gives you shivers because it just might be real. I love this story for its simplicity--the author doesn't try to force it to be more than it is. She just lays it out in front of you and leaves you to ponder. And it's magical. You've just gotta love a book like that!

I recommend this book for older children who are ready to contemplate the issues of life and death, but who can still appreciate fantasy (It's not one of those depressing my-best-friend-died-and-it's-all-my-fault-Betsy-Byers-type books, thank goodness!). But I also highly recommend it to adults. It just might help you consider the magic of life that adults so often dismiss as childish impossibility.

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, wonderful book November 2, 2002

By "greengoldfairy"

Format:Hardcover

So far, in my life, I have read this book twice. The first time was when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and I don't remember liking it at all. Throughout the years, TUCK EVERLASTING has never been one of the books that I think of when someone asked me what they ought to read. In fact, when I heard that the movie was coming out, I could barely remember the story.

Now that I've read it a second time, at the age of 16, I can't for the life of me understand why. In TUCK EVERLASTING Natalie Babbitt has crafted a wonderfully thought-provoking story about human mortality and what it would mean to live forever. I was floored after I finished it, floored to the point that I had to stay in bed for a while and just think.

TUCK EVERLASTING is the story of 10-year-old Winnie Foster who, while literally on the run from her stifiling and lonely family life, stumbles upon a young man sipping water from a spring at the base of a giant oak tree. The young man is Jesse Tuck, the youngest memeber of a family blessed -- or doomed -- to live forever. While Winnie stays with the Tucks for just a few days, she learns more about their secret and what it really means. Unfortunately, a mysterious man also knows of the Tucks and of their secret, and is bent using it to make a fortune.

Though I am tempted to say that this book would be good for all ages, I don't think that this is necessarily true. My own experience proves otherwise. TUCK EVERLASTING is probably best for boys and girls ages 13 and up.

Oh, and remember: Don't see the movie without reading the book!

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Tuck Everlasting March 29, 2005

By J. Meyers

Format:Paperback

Geared toward the middle grades, Tuck Everlasting is a modern fantasy novel that has characters that can easily be identified with, even if they can never die. The book is an easy read with a plot that keeps readers in suspense and wanting to know more. The overall theme that life is a wheel and should move on, teaches us that death is part of the journey and to not take living for granted.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Life Everlasting December 17, 2002

A Kid's Review

Format:Paperback

It would be great if we could live forever. No one could kill us, or even hurt us. That's not what the Tucks think from the book Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt. The Tucks drank from a magical spring, which gave them special powers to live forever. People thought of them as weird, as they ran away from them, accusing them of witchcraft. They try keeping living forever a secret, but when they meet Winnie Foster, something could go wrong. Do you still want to live forever? This fiction fantasy book keeps you on your toes, and ready to go.
Winnie Foster isd a ten-year-old girl. She gets to much attention from her family, so decides to run away. While running away, she meets the Tuck family, including Jesse Tuck, Mae Tuck, Miles Tuck, and Angus Tuck. Jesse, Mae, and Miles take her to Tuck when they find her, so he can explain the secret of the spring, but also to explain the importance of no one knowing about it.
Earlier in the book, Winnie met a stranger, wearing a yellow suit. He has been searching for the Tucks for a long time, and has finally found them, and wants to get the spring. He tells the Fosters that Winnie has been kidnapped, and he knows where she is. He makes a deal to get her, if they give him all of their woods, including the magical spring.
The stranger went to the Tucks, but instead of getting Winnie, Mae kills him, out of care for Winnie. She has to go to jail, soon to be put in the gallows.
The Tucks and Winnie have to get Mae out of jail, or the whole world will discover the secret the the Tucks and Mae hold. They come up with a plan, but will they get her out? Read this great book to find out what happens next.
I would recommend this book for ages eleven and older, because it is very hard to understand at times.... I think this book is good because it is exciting and adventurous. Read more ›

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the most touching book I have ever read... July 10, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book was first read to me in fourth grade. Every day our class would urge our teacher to read just one more chapter to us. It was the first book that lifted itself off of its pages and into my childhood heart.

Last winter, over Christmas break, I was feeling a bit disconnected from myself and my child idealisms, so I decided to read Tuck Everlasting for a second time. Ten years after I read it for the first time, it was just as majestic and welcoming.

There is something about Babbitt's writing that invites you into a world unlike any I have ever known... a world of childlike fantasies, and characters that are more familiar than any reality I have or wish to experience.

I recomend this book to anyone who has lost themselves in a world of ostentatious values and fallacous relations... to anyone who, for 130 pages, would like to rediscover what it is to fantasize, discover, and dream. I welcome everyone into the world of Tuck Everlasting.