View all 38 comments. Jul 22, Julie rated it really liked it Shelves: thats-show , coming-of-age. Natalie Moore was a writer and an illustrator who went on to marry a fellow writer named Samuel Fisher Babbitt. Bibbity bobbity boo , next thing we knew, Natalie Moore was writing as Natalie Babbitt. And Ms. Babbitt went on to write this famous little book called Tuck Everlasting , a young adult story with a delicious cover and a clever, real writer's name.
A name that kept reminding me of someone who'd be related to Bilbo Baggins and Peter Rabbit. And, if you know Beatrix Potter's work, you can rec Natalie Moore was a writer and an illustrator who went on to marry a fellow writer named Samuel Fisher Babbitt. And, if you know Beatrix Potter's work, you can recognize that Natalie married a man whose two names are also titles of two of Potter's famous tales: Samuel Whiskers and Mr.
Jeremy Fisher. Babbitt's writing was so incredibly playful? So magical? I'm not sure, but it is. It made me think of both Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll, and the year-old protagonist, Winnie Foster, takes readers on an Alice-esque journey of wonder and questions and confusion.
It is the United States, circa ; but you realize quickly that Ms. Babbitt loved the natural world and liked playing around in a mess of words. Words that work, and are fun. But, in case you get confused and think it's playtime. Babbitt also lets you know that she likes to think really big thoughts. By the end, you and Winnie are left scratching your ears. You wonder. This book is full of wonder. And it's wonderful for readers and writers to be exposed to Ms.
Babbitt, who writes like a hobbit. View all 22 comments. Mar 26, Hilary rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Those who love great stories and philosophical ideas.
Shelves: losing-a-loved-one , female-author-or-illustrator , runaways , outdoor-play , family-stories , friendship , top-twelve-favourites-of-all-time , philosophy , magic.
We loved this story, we loved the concept, the descriptions of nature, the relationships between the characters. The philosophical ideas were good, we loved thinking about what this storyline suggested and how although it seemed the ideal thing to be granted, the people who had it found it more than a curse than a blessing. In my naivety I still think it would be ideal as long as those you loved were in on it too, but yes, I can see it would get complicated, and where would it stop? The music bo We loved this story, we loved the concept, the descriptions of nature, the relationships between the characters.
The music box was an interesting part, we really wanted to know what tune it played. We couldn't predict the ending and we enjoyed speculating how this story would be concluded.
Despite really enjoying this at the time, I was left with a sad feeling after the story had ended. View all 25 comments. Tuck Everlasting is one of those books everyone should read at a young age. After all, who hasn't ever thought at least once about how it would be to live eternally, to be free to do everything you want to, to embrace life in all its different facets?
The way this short novel deals with eternal life - and raising the question about whether or not that can be considered a blessing or doom - makes it an important addition to the literary world.
Fast-paced and easy to read, this is a book to devour Tuck Everlasting is one of those books everyone should read at a young age. Fast-paced and easy to read, this is a book to devour in the course of three or four short hours, and while not the most involving book which can be found out there, at least it is able to make you think about what it would be like to have to live like the Tuck family does: Wandering around eternally and restlessly, comdemned to live on this earth until its very end.
The book itself introduces the character of Winnie Foster, an eleven-year-old girl who meets the Tuck family and soon learns of their unbelievable secret: that the four members of that family are immortal after they drank from a magic spring. Natalie Babbitt's prose is strong and powerful, drawing a convincing picture of how life can possibly work without death. Yet the book in itself is not without flaws; she never allowed the characters to become realistic.
For me, especially the Tuck family felt like a gathering of stereotypes, and the lack of dynamics between the family members itself didn't help matters. Yet the potential was exploited almost completely, additionally helped by some strong messages the connection between life and death, the ideas of human greed and constant change, the contrast between morality and craving, and the values of love and humanity.
The only thing which constantly bothered me was the way the Tuck family behaved - at least except for Jesse, the youngest son. If you are condemned to live your life on this earth forever, why constantly complain about your situation rather than actually doing something purposeful with your immortality?
But then, maybe that was yet another message Babbitt implied in her novel: that the good-hearted are almost never those who actually want to change something in this world, while those with immoral and evil-minded purposes long to rule the world. View all 23 comments. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt Ten-year-old Winifred "Winnie" Foster is frustrated with her family, and considers running away from her home in rural Treegap.
One day, while in a wooded area her family owns, she sees a boy of about 17 drinking from a spring. He introduces himself as Jesse Tuck, and tells her not to drink the spring water. Soon after, his brother Miles, and his mother Mae, take her away with them. On the way, they are pursued by a man in a yellow suit, who had approached the Fo Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt Ten-year-old Winifred "Winnie" Foster is frustrated with her family, and considers running away from her home in rural Treegap.
On the way, they are pursued by a man in a yellow suit, who had approached the Fosters asking questions about their land the day before. The Tucks explain to Winnie that the spring grants eternal life to anyone who drinks its water, effects which they discovered by accident.
In the process, Miles had to cope with his wife leaving him and taking their children. They have been living in seclusion outside of Treegap for years, reuniting every ten years, and drinking from the spring.
Winnie grows particularly fond of Jesse, and his father, Angus Tuck. Meanwhile, the man in the yellow suit, has been pursuing the Tucks. Once he discovers they have taken Winifred, he steals their horse and rides it back to the Foster homestead. After he informs her family of Winnie's whereabouts, they dispatch him, and the local constable to return her. However, he breaks away, and rides ahead of the constable, for he has a selfish motive for finding Winnie.
When the man in the yellow suit arrives at the Tucks' farm, he informs them that he has been searching for them for years. Miles' wife and children had come to live with his family when he was a boy, and he heard rumors of their secret.
He then informs the angry family that he told the Fosters where Winnie was and that he has received a bounty in exchange, for her safe return: the wooded area, and with it the spring. He plans to gather the water from the spring, and sell it to the public. Reread for our tmgreadalong classics challenge! Instagram Twitter Facebook Amazon Pinterest I'm doing a project where I reread some of the books I liked when I was younger and seeing what I want to keep and what is better reconciled to memory.
In this book, Winnie is ten and Jesse is seventeen-going-on-eighty, which definitely makes the book way more yuck. The movie is more of a straightforward romance but for obvious reasons, the book is not.
Instead it's sort of a precocious coming-of-age tale and a philosophical musing on the ephemeral nature of life. If you could live forever, would you? How would you account for the draining of the world's resources?
How should people be chosen for eternal life? It asks some tough but interesting questions and it's probably no surprise to you that the villain of the tale is a man who is hell-bent on living forever, no matter who he has to hurt. I thought the story was okay. It's really short and clearly intended for a much younger audience than the movie. The first time I read this book, I remember liking it a lot, but this time around I found myself rolling my eyes and thinking about the movie instead.
It kind of has a sad ending but it ends up being kind of bittersweet too, and I liked how the author alluded to certain things. In my first reading, I think I gave it five stars, but this time around, I'm feeling a three. It was decent but I don't think I'd reread. View all 4 comments. Jul 15, Ivana - Diary of Difference rated it it was amazing Shelves: format-print , favourites , genre-young-adult.
A total masterpiece. This book made me think about the question of which every one of us wants to know the answer - is it that good to live forever? I love the way the writer insists on telling both the positive and negative sides of leaving forever and staying forever young..
I know I won't stop thinking about this book in a while. View all 5 comments. There'd be time to learn to play an instrument. You'd have all the time in the world to master all sorts of skills. But, there would be drawbacks, of course there would.
Just ask Dr. You'd have to "Know what that is, all around us, Winnie? You'd have to watch your loved ones grow old and die. You'd still need to work and earn money. And, one thing I never thought of until I read this book - you'd need to move around quite a bit, as others became suspicious of your lack of visible aging. And if that means I got to move on at the end of it, then I want that, too. If people knowed about the spring down there in Treegap, they'd all come running like pigs to slops.
They'd trample each other, trying to get some of that water. That'd be bad enough, but afterwards - can you imagine? All the little ones little forever, all the old ones old forever. Can you picture what that means? The wheel would keep rolling by to the ocean, but the people would've turned into nothing but rocks by the side of the road.
I suppose this is considered a classic; though it was only published in , it seems much older. There is a timeless appeal to this book, but perhaps it is it's subject matter that makes it seem immortal. I mostly enjoyed the book.
Things that annoyed other readers - the age difference between Winnie and Jesse, the few plot holes, the ending - didn't bother me a bit. Ah, the ending. I loved the ending. I loved that the author view spoiler [did not shy away from death - a sad, but necessary part of life. READ it!
I wish I had - I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Peter Thomas. He did a fine job, but his voice reminded me of those voice-overs from all the film strips I was forced to watch in elementary school.
Is it time for recess yet? View 2 comments. Jul 18, Kristina Horner rated it it was amazing Shelves: childhood-books , audiobooks. Never actually read this book as a child - only saw the movie.
Listened to the audiobook for booktubeathon with my boyfriend and we both loved it! It's a very radio-drama-esque good vs. Actual rating, 3. This is a perfectly whimsical read and, had my younger self read this, then I could see this becoming a firm childhood favourite.
As it is, I feel I am too old to really appreciate the fantastic and yet simplistic story. It saddens me to say this, really. It means that my more mature self has picked plot holes and problems where only beauty and simplicity should reign. This is living proof that growing up is definitely bad for you!
The story was poignant, whimsical and sw Actual rating, 3. The story was poignant, whimsical and sweet and exactly what I was expecting. The descriptions the novel opened with transported me into the world and I found this wonderfully eloquent for a book aimed at a younger audience.
I also fell in love with the characters. Our protagonist, Winnie, and the entire Tuck family feel warm and welcoming to the reader and I felt a fuzzy feeling inside whilst reading this! My problems with the novel were really only minor inconsistencies, and yet they jarred with my understanding and enjoyment of the novel. There were many coincidences and plot holes and, again, this is something that probably would not bother or even be picked up on by the audience it was aimed for.
I also felt like the age difference between Winnie and Jesse was wrong on so many levels In all, this is a very sweet and simplistic tale and I am only sorry that I had not read it when I was younger, to truly appreciate the brilliance of the story.
Nov 03, K. Absolutely rated it did not like it Shelves: childrens. The Cullen family meets Gretel minus Hansel. However, the Cullens are vampires and the idea of vampires being immortals was originally thought of by Bram Stoker while the Tucks have drank water from The Cullen family meets Gretel minus Hansel.
However, the Cullens are vampires and the idea of vampires being immortals was originally thought of by Bram Stoker while the Tucks have drank water from the spring of youth which is similar to the fountain of youth that was first thought of by Herodotus several years ago before the birth of Jesus Christ. In the book, Winnie wants to run away because she is tired of being cooped up being the only child.
I guess this is the reason why the film executives change the reason to that of Winnie being planned to be sent by her parents to a boarding school. This is the impossible or already used-a-million-times scheme and I thought it lacked imagination. So the film executives probably were with me so they concocted a more elaborate situation in the film: Winnie tells the prison guard that the people who kidnapped her are back to get her.
He runs outside with a shotgun to face them. He shoots them, but runs away when he sees they cannot die. Meanwhile, Winnie grabs his keys and unlocks Mae and Angus's cell doors. I thought it was a more sensible scheme. In the book, Winnie seems to be falling in love with Jesse. This might be an exaggeration but Winnie described Jesse twice in her mind as beautiful with the green eyes like jade or something. I am not sure about this but when my daughter was 10, she was as innocent as a babe in the woods and did not have crushes yet and she looked at boys like playmates to shoot balls with.
I know it is different from one girl to the next but my daughter was also an only child and they say that the people of yesteryears were more conservative than this or the recent generations including mine. I can see why some readers would like this book but not me. View all 14 comments. Oct 05, Duane rated it really liked it Shelves: childrens , fantasy , book-challenge , reviewed-books , rated-books.
This review contains spoilers. The year is The Tuck family lives in the small rural town of Treegap, New Hampshire. There is a spring there, located in the Foster's Wood, with water that will give you immortality. If you are 17 when you drink it, 17 you will be forever. The Tuck family knows this because 80 years earlier they drank the water and haven't aged a day since. But now 10 year old Winnie Foster has discovered their secret which creates all kinds of problems for everyone involved, This review contains spoilers.
But now 10 year old Winnie Foster has discovered their secret which creates all kinds of problems for everyone involved, and so the story unfolds. Would you do it if you could? After reading this you will think maybe, but maybe not. It's a thought provoking story with great characters that are easy to love, and the ending has a little bit of a twist.
View all 7 comments. Feb 20, Maddie D rated it it was amazing. My favorite part in the book is when Jesse asks Winnie if she wants to wait 6 years and then get married and go on adventures.
I like this part in the book because you would never expect that it would happen. It was an interesting and surprising part of this book.
I can relate to Winnie because I always wanted to be my own independent person. I always wanted to walk to school by myself and pack my own lunch, I just wanted to be responsible like Winnie.
The book Tuck Everlasting is a great book because it can be mysterious when the man in the yellow suit follows Winnie and the Tucks.
It can also be very interesting because the Tucks are immortal, which is very unrealistic but it makes the story interesting. It's like what it would be if it the world was immortal. It really makes you think about it if you get down deep into the story. Some characters like being immortal, some don't. Personally I think it would be pretty cool if I was immortal because you would get to see what the world is like in the future.
You would also never have to worry about getting hurt because you live forever and your always the same age. You would get to experience so many different time frames and changes.
It would be awesome if I got to live forever just like the Tucks get to do in the book Tuck Everlasting. Well the man in the yellow suit definitely wasn't nice because he followed Winnie when she got kidnapped and took the Tucks horse to go to Winnie's house and try to make a trade with Winnie's family.
Luckily Mae hit the man in the yellow suit in the head with the gun, else things would have gone really bad. This theme also applies in real life because if you trust strangers they could do something bad to you. Like the man in the yellow suit tried to do to Winnie. View all 3 comments. From start to finish, I didn't want to pull my nose out of the book!
When Winnie takes Mae's place in jail, she receives a vial of the magical water to drink when she turns Instead, she chooses mortality. She doesn't find solace in immortality and wants to live a natural life. As curriculum developer and educator, Kristine Tucker has enjoyed the plethora of English assignments she's read and graded! Her experiences as vice-president of an energy consulting firm have given her the opportunity to explore business writing and HR.
Tucker has a BA and holds Ohio teaching credentials. Traits of Daisy in "The Great Gatsby". I thought this book was fantastic. The Tucks and Winnie goes through a lot of dilemma and that makes this book very interesting. I also thought this book was great because the story was a fantasy. I love fantasy books. Tuck Everlasting fits into the fantasy genre because there are good verses bad, love, and the story of the spring that will make you live forever. I love fantasy books because it never can happen in real life.
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