Remembering Author Natalie Babbitt
Born in Ohio in 1932, Babbitt knew that she wanted to become an illustrator at age nine, when she received a copy of Alice in Wonderland illustrated by John Tenniel. Her first published work was The Forty-ninth Magician (Pantheon, 1966), a collaboration with husband Sam Babbitt. She went on to write and illustrate several books, including the immortal classic Tuck Everlasting.
I had long before that made up my mind about what was going to happen when I died. But I wrote Tuck to help [my daughter] understand what life is all about—that we all get born and we all have to die. It’s a subject I never thought I’d write about, but there it was. I wanted to be sure Lucy would not grow up scared. (Publishers Weekly)
