New Releases by Natalie Babbitt

Introduced by New York Times–bestselling author Gabrielle Zevin, a special 50th Anniversary Edition of the beloved children’s classic with more than more than 10 million copies sold. From Newbery Honoree and E. B. White Award–winning author Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting is a spellbinding modern-day masterpiece about immortality, friendship, and growing up that’s sure to be an all-time favorite for every generation. Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring in the nearby woods whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never growing older. Now Winnie must decide what to do with her newfound knowledge—and the Tucks must decide what to do with her. But it’s not just the curious girl who is interested in their remarkable tale. A suspicious stranger is also searching for the Tucks, and he will stop at nothing until he finds them and uncovers their secret. A staple on home bookshelves and in classrooms and libraries for half a century, Tuck Everlasting is brought to life for new readers and long-time fans in this dazzling deluxe edition, which includes a foreword from the New York Times–bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin; new breathtaking black-and-white illustrations from award-winning artist Bagram Ibatoulline; an afterword from Natalie Babbitt’s daughter; and more never-before-seen bonus material. Praise for Tuck Everlasting: “Probably the best work of our best children''s novelist.” ―Harper''s “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 Yorker

In this collection of essays and speeches written over the course of four decades, beloved storyteller Natalie Babbitt explores what it was like to be a “little dog” in the literary world, continually being forced to justify her choice to write books for children—instead of doing something more serious. Babbitt offers incisive commentary on classic children’s books as well as contemporary works, and reveals colorful insights into her own personal creative life. Filled with a voice that rings with truth, wisdom, and humor across the years, the essays gathered in Barking with the Big Dogs exemplify on every page true reverence for children and an endless engagement with the challenge to write the books that shape them.

In un mattino di primavera, Hercules Feltwright arriva a Goody Hall, una magnifica tenuta di campagna dove lo attendono perché faccia da precettore a Willet, il ragazzino che vi abita insieme alla madre vedova. Ma Hercules non tarderà a scoprire che quella casa dalle perfette apparenze è circondata di misteri... Willet sostiene che suo padre non sia morto, come tutti credono, e che la sua tomba nasconda un segreto. In un gioco di finzioni dove nessuno è chi dice di essere, toccherà a Hercules aiutarlo a trovare la verità.

Traditional Chinese edition of Tuck Everlasting, an ALA Notable Book and a classic teen novel that lets readers dream about an everlasting life. Do you really want to live forever?

"Problemente el mejor trabajo de nuestro mejor novelista para niños." —Harper''s "Un libro escribito bellamente y con respeto, que no se puede interrumpir ni olvidar." —Jean Stafford, The New Yorker "Condenada a—o bendecida con—vida eterna después de beber el agua de un manantial encantado, la familia Tuck deambula tratando de vivir lo mas inadvertida y cómodamente posible. Cuando Winnie Foster, una niña de diez años, descubre su secreto, los Tucks la llevan a su casa y le explican por qué vivir eternamente sin envejecer no es en realidad una bendición. Las cosas se complican cuando un extraño que ha seguido a Winnie quiere poner a la venta el agua del manatial por una fortuna." —School Library Journal, estrella "Raramente se encuentra un libro con prosa tan clara. Perfecto en estilo y estructura, es rico en imágenes y está salpicado con ligeros chasquidos de humor." —The Horn Book Un libro en Español Libro Notable de la ALA Spanish translation of the story of the Tuck family, doomed to - or blessed with - eternal life after drinking from a magic spring. The Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a starnger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune. “Rarely does one find a book with such prose. Flawless in both style and structure, it is rich in imagery and punctuated with light fillips of humor. The author manipulates her plot deftly, dealing with six main characters brought together because of a spring whose waters can bestow everlasting life. . . Underlying the drama is the dilemma of the age-old desire for perpetual youth.” —The Horn Book

Twenty short stories display Satan''s vanity and other failings as well as his unflagging gusto for dirty tricks.

The new novel by Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting. Struggling to make an important decision, Joe considers the advice of a successful, decisive millionaire before finding help through an unexpected source.

"The truth is that Mylo was very much afraid of the dark," so begins Natalie Babbitt''s beloved picture book The Something. Mylo...is afraid of an indefinable Something coming in through his window at night. Given some modeling clay by his concerned mother, he finally succeeds in making a statue of the Something...The clever, ironic story interprets common childhood fears of the dark in a way that should prove highly amusing to many small children."--Starred/Booklist The Something was made into a short animated film of the same name in 2015.

The Devil''s Storybook is a 1974 New York Times Book Review Notable Children''s Book of the Year and a 1975 National Book Award Finalist for Children''s Books. An ALA Notable Book Chosen by School Library Journal as one of the Best of the Best Books

The Devil is back, just as full of vanity and other human feelings as he was in Natalie Babbitt''s first collection, The Devil''s Storybook.

An out-of-work actor, Hercules Feltwright, stumbles into a job tutoring Willet Goody, the only child of a widow living in a large, lonely house. Willet quickly involves his tutor in the search to discover the truth about his father. The mystery unfolds with the discovery of hidden treasure, a gypsy séance, and the frightening exploration of the tomb of Midas Goody.

A gifted artist and writer, Natalie Babbitt''s novels are inspired by a brilliance and imagination that is completely original. She began her career in 1966 with the publication of a picture book, The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband, Samuel Fisher Babbitt. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with a more profound meaning embedded within them. Kneeknock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor Medal, but it is Tuck Everlasting which has insured Babbitt''s place in the history of children''s literature. Babbitt has written six more novels including The Eyes of the Amaryllis and Goody Hall—each one presenting her unique vision of an enchanted world. Her latest novel, Jack Plank Tells Tales, was published in Spring 2007. Natalie Babbitt lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a grandmother of three. When asked what she wants readers to remember about her books, she replied, "the questions without answers."

From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep for the annual fair, he is entranced by the fable surrounding the misty peak of Kneeknock Rise: On stormy nights when the rain drives harsh and cold, an undiscovered creature raises its voice and moans. Nobody knows what it is—nobody has ever dared to try to find out and come back again. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find an answer to the mystery. Kneeknock Rise is a 1971 Newbery Honor Book.

From the author of Tuck Everlasting comes a powerful, multi-layered story about a man who never felt complete, the family he is unable to fully love, and the fabulous amusement park that he created. Everyone in town knows Herbert Rowbarge as the wealthy creator of the Rowbarge Pleasure Dome, a fantastic amusement park. But his past is murky. Even his twin daughters believe that their father has led a lonely but prosperous life, inheriting his wealth from various deceased relatives. What the town doesn’t know is that Herbert was born a penniless orphan, sustained only by his desire to create something beautiful: An amusement park with a carousel featuring pairs of identical animals. Everything he’s achieved has been a product of that single-minded determination. What Herbert himself doesn’t know is that he is a twin. All he knows is that he has never felt complete. When he gazes into the mirror, he glimpses some lost part of himself. When he looks at his twin daughters, he feels a stab of something like jealousy. Told from the point of view of Herbert and his daughters, this is a family story about how people can long for a part of themselves that they never knew they lost. Natalie Babbitt is at her best in this stunning novel for adults. "Herbert Rowbarge has . . . an almost folktale-like tone and plot. Never mind that it contains its share of Buicks and bridge parties; it still possesses the hushed, concentrated, stripped quality of a legend. And like a legend, it draws us in. It’s spellbinding.” —Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review

Oui, c''est bien vrai! Jack Plank a d''abord été pirate et ses acolytes l''ont beaucoup apprécié. Leur bateau, l''Avarice, était magnifique. Mais, peu à peu, il devenait évident que Jack n''excellait pas dans l''art du pillage. Que pouvait-il y faire sinon regagner la terre ferme et chercher un autre type d''emploi? Sa quête avait débuté à Saltwash, une ville côtière de la mer des Caraïbes. Il avait bénéficié des nombreux conseils des gens de la pension DelFresno où il habitait, mais curieusement, aucun métier ne lui convenait. Et ainsi, chaque soir, durant le dîner à la pension, il expliquait les inconvénients liés à tel ou tel travail : Après tout, qui voudrait travailler dans un endroit où il pourrait y avoir des Trolls? Et que dire du risque de voir un crabe se prendre aux poils de sa barbe? Sans parler des crocodiles amateurs de musique... Décidément, Jack n''était pas fait pour la vie à terre Il aurait dû se résoudre à retourner en mer, à moins que le destin, comme c''est souvent le cas, en décide autrement...

When the brig Amaryllis was swallowed in a hurricane, the captain and all the crew were swallowed, too. For thirty years the captain''s widow, Geneva Reade, has waited, certain that her husband will send her a message from the bottom of the sea. But someone else is waiting, too, and watching her, a man called Seward. Into this haunted situation comes Jenny, the widow''s granddaughter. The three of them, Gran, Jenny, and Seward, are drawn into a kind of deadly game with one another and with the sea, a game that only the sea knows how to win. The Eyes of the Amaryllis is a 1977 New York Times Book Review Notable Children''s Book of the Year.

The Prime Minister is compiling a dictionary and when no one at court can agree on the meaning of delicious, the King sends his twelve-year-old messenger to poll the country.

A young man starts out to be a pirate, but just doesn''t seem to have the knack for it and seeks a new career.

Natalie Babbitt''s elegant writing style & the totally engaging characterizations in her illustrations combine to create a memorable picture book. Fairy godmothers are supposed to set things right, but Elsie''s fairy godmother sometimes sets things wrong. When she changes one Elsie into 8, the results make a mess for everyone, from Elsie''s cat right on up to the Mayor. And the noise! Well, it''s so bad that Elsie & her family, including cat & goats, have to look for somewhere else to live. But all comes out right in the end -- unless you are a mouse.

The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.

This tale from Grimm -- far less familiar than many of the others -- has been given a brisk retelling by Natalie Babbitt and witty, spectacular, sumptuous pictures by Fred Marcellino. The story tells all about young Marco, who leads a charmed life if anyone ever did, starting off as nobody special and ending up king. Not that it''s an easy path, the most dangerous part being an errand that takes him down into Hell. But thanks to the Devil''s grandmother, as good an old girl as grandmothers everywhere, it all comes right in the end.

Il y a des gens qui croient que la mer est inoffensive. La grand-mère de Jenny, elle, sait à quoi s''en tenir. Son mari était capitaine, et le bateau a fait naufrage. Elle l''a vu disparaître sous ses yeux. Mais comment croire au naufrage, alors qu''il n''y en a aucune preuve tangible ? Chaque nuit, depuis trente ans, elle descend sur la plage. Pourquoi ? Et que trouvera Jenny, quand à son tour elle entreprendra des recherches ? L''adolescente se trouve soudain plongée dans un autre monde, où tout est possible, où les fantômes se promènent en plein jour...