Tuck Everlasting

Title: Tuck Everlasting

Author: Natalie Babbitt

Publisher: Square Fish

Date: October 1978

Number of pages: 160

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Genre: Fantasy Children's Novel

Summary:  The classic children's fantasy written by Natalie Babbitt, explores the concept of immortality and the reasons why it might not be as desirable as it appears to be. Winifred Foster (Winnie) comes from a well known, well off family who keep her locked away behind a 4 foot iron fence that surrounds their home. When threatened to be shipped off to a girls boarding school, Winnie runs into the depths of the forest where she was forbidden to go. She finds a beautiful tree from which a spring of water pours, with a young man drinking from it. This discovery leads her to meet Jesse Tuck and the rest of his family, who are immortal as a result of drinking from this spring over a century earlier. The family decides it best to take Winnie away with them to explain the secret and why it must be kept. While living amongst the Tucks, a man has been watching. He has come to the town in hopes of finding the spring (which he had heard of through stories told by his grandmother) and selling it to the highest bidder. He sees the incident as a kidnapping, and uses it to his advantage in order to buy the woods from the Foster family.

  
 Winnie grows to love the Tucks like the family she never truly had. They are affectionate, without rules, and live peacefully in the woods 20 miles from town. They teach her why revealing the secret of immortality to the world would disrupt the balance of life, throwing human beings out of the great cycle of life and death. Their brief time together is ended when the man  who was watching confronts the Fosters. After hearing his plan, Mae Tuck takes out a shotgun and hits him over the head with it, from which he eventually dies. The Tucks struggle to escape as Mae tuck ends up incarcerated.

  
 At the end it is revealed that Winnie dies two years before the Tucks return to the town, seeking to find her and make sure the spring is safe. It has been destroyed by lightning, and so the Tucks carry on. 

My Reaction: I thought the short novel for Children was a delightful read. I never read it as a younger child, but I remember watching the movie. After reading the book I fell in love with the storyline which pushes the boundaries of the reality we all know. Immortal life, and the lengths humans would go to to receive it. As you read, a love story unfurls and you fall in love with Winnie's free spirit and the Tucks passion for life.

Potential problems: Young love. Many young adult females will read this romantic novel and assume it is natural to find a true soul mate and fall in love at a young age. It also doesn't teach a value of discipline for the council and guidance of you parents. I think Young Women should realize that Tuck everlasting is purely fantasy and for enjoyment. It is not recommended from running away from home, and staying away without contact to your family.

My recommendation: I think Tuck Everlasting is a fantastic book for reading groups between 4th-6th grades. It would be beneficial to have reading circles where the children would be able to discuss the values and morals being explained in each chapter of the book. From family, love, value and quantity of life, to imagination and creativity, to establishing friendships - as you read on, the story helps you realize that sometimes, with a good fantasy book. You can escape reality and also learn a lesson!