Customer Reviews

Tuck Everlasting

5 star:		(591)
4 star:		(403)
3 star:		(147)
2 star:		(79)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

As a mother of a pre-teen I have been reading works of juvenile literature so I would be more aware of what my daughter was reading in school. Tuck Everlasting was a pleasant surprise since the talented author did more than create an interesting story. Every description, each sentence, paragraph and chapter is carefully crafted to make this book more than just another fun read. This book truly presents a thought provoking story wrapped in a breathtaking arrangement of words that makes you realize how beautiful the English language can really be. If you want your children to read something that is a true work of literary art - than have them read this book. In fact, take the time to read it yourself. You will be afraid to talk after each section you read for fear of polluting a language used so well in its literary context.

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.

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.

In my humble opinion, Tuck Everlasting is one of the greatest children novels of all time. Although it is classically categorized as a book for children, and I've acknowledged is as such, I consider it deep enough and beautiful enough for all ages to enjoy. The tough questions it touches on, like immortality, human greed and death, and the non-condescending but beautiful way it goes about them is really touching and though-provoking, especially since the people of its target age audience are probably just beginning to think about those sorts of things. Babbit's imagery is wonderful, but not too ornate and doesn't take away from the story. The story flows simple and real, and the characters have so much depth you can picture them perfectly. The whole story, and the quiet but significant ending really touched me and made me cry and I read it for the first time at the age of 16. I suggest this book for all children able to read it, as well as their parents.

The opening of TUCK EVERLASTING is one of the best beginnings of any book I've ever read, including many of the classics. Whatever this book my lack in character development, it makes up for ten-fold in theme. This book and its concepts are ageless and haunting. The best stories in life are often told as a parable, and TUCK EVERLASTING delivers. It is not a plot driven book or even a character driven book, it is question driven book...Do you choose life?

I read the book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. This book was extraordinary. I liked it a lot because it had very little down time in the beginning, middle, and ending.

Staring into the forest that had never been in, 10-year-old Winnie foster always wonder what it would be like if she ran away. One day she got up and ran into the forest, which led, her to meet the Tuck family, a family that never aged. They told her about the spring water that kept them from growing old.

Worried aboult his daughter, Winnie's father gets help from a mysterious man in the yellow suit that wants the forest in return for his help. he doesn't care about the forest but wants to make money by selling the water. A conflict arises between the Tucks and this man, which leads to his death. Winnie learns that having something precious isn't always the best thing to have.

I recommend that you read this mysterious adventure book for yourself to find out if Winnie shares the information about the spring. I would recommend this book so you can compare it to the move. If I rate this book on a scale 1-10 I would give it a 10.

This story is a fascinating one about the choice a young girl, Winnie, has to make. It takes place in the northeast of the United States during the late 1800's. Winnie is given the opportunity to live forever, if she chooses. In the process to make that decision, she grows up and comes to terms with her own life as it is. I read this story with my 4th graders this past year and they loved the classic story! They were fascinated with the different levels of the story and the discussions were amazing. This is a must read for Language Arts teachers.