In the late 1700's, they drink from a spring of water in a forest that turns out to be a sort of fountain of youth: it makes them immortal, unable to die and permanently stuck at the age they were when they drank from the spring.

The Tuck family, a husband, wife and two sons ages 17 and 22, are simple, salt-of-the-earth folk. The toad, in its own small way, will be significant later on. I still see a ten year old girl telling her troubles to a toad. I first read Tuck about 10 or 15 years ago and, even though it's a middle grade book, it has stuck with me all these years. (Thinking about this now, I kind of feel guilty about it, like I need to go give her some better books.) So I hung onto these few keepers and found a neighbor with a young daughter who was interested in taking the rest of the books off my hands. I was so disappointed.īut there were a handful of more interesting books scattered among the rest, and one of those was Tuck Everlasting.

I have NO idea where my MIL got them from, or why. dozens of Sweet Valley High and Babysitters Club books. When I got home and opened the boxes, I found. With visions of a literary treasure trove in my head, I quickly offered to take them off her hands so I could keep what I liked and dispose of the rest. She mentioned, as we were leaving, that she had two boxes of books that she was going to get rid of. 'This book is as shapely, crisp, sweet, and tangy as a summer-ripe pear.One day I was visiting my mother-in-law, a former high school English teacher. It lingers on, haunting your waking hours, making you ponder.' - The Boston Globe 'Natalie Babbitt's great skill is spinning fantasy with the lilt and sense of timeless wisdom of the old fairy tales. 'Probably the best work of our best children's novelist.' - Harper's 'With its serious intentions and light touch the story is, like the Tucks, timeless.' - Chicago Sun-Times 'Exciting and excellently written.' - The New York Times Book Review 'A fearsome and beautifully written book that can't be put down or forgotten.' - The New York Times Praise for Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt: Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never growing older.īut then Winnie must decide whether or not to keep the Tucks' secret-and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey.

Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family's property whose waters grant immortality. The classic novel about a young girl who stumbles upon a family's stunning secret

Tuck everlasting babbitt