“I
never wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a book illustrator. I used to hurry
home from school and draw.” – Natalie Babbitt
Born in
Ohio in 1932, Natalie Zane Babbitt (who died in 2016) got her wish and
also achieved everlasting fame with her writing. Her acclaimed Young Adult novel Tuck
Everlasting earned the Newbery Honor and Christopher Award and was the U.S.
nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award. The book also was adapted into two feature
films and award-winning Broadway musical.
Babbitt
studied art at Laurel School in Cleveland and then at Smith College, putting
her career on the back burner while she raised a family. In 1966 she dived into the publishing pool,
collaborating with husband Samuel on The
Forty-ninth Magician, a
picture book that he wrote and she illustrated.
Encouraged by her publisher to
keep going, she wrote and illustrated two short books of verse, then turned to novels,
winning her first Newbery for Knee-Knock Rise.
Tuck Everlasting, which explores
the concept of immortality and the reasons why it might not be as desirable as
it first appears, has sold 2.5 million copies and been called a
classic of modern children's literature.
Popular with teachers,
it ranked 16th among the Top 100 Chapter Books of All Time in a
survey published by School Library Journal. As for Babbitt, she wrote 20 books and illustrated more, leaving a lasting legacy in both writing and art.
While
neither the author nor any of us will live forever, Babbitt’s works most
certainly will. It’s the hope of all who
take pen (or brush) in hand to create something for others to share.
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