Natalie Babbitt

Natalie Babbitt was born Natalie Zane Moore on July 28, 1932, in Dayton, Ohio, and during her childhood her family moved frequently to different Ohio cities. She attended Smith College, graduating with a degree in art. In 1945 she married Samuel Babbitt, with whom she had three children. In 1964 she became inspired to become a professional artist, providing the illustrations for her husband's book, The Fourty-Ninth Magician, in 1966. Stepping into the world of writing, she created both pictures and texts for Dick Foote and the Shark (1967) and Phoebe's Revolt (1968). The Search for Delicious, her first children's novel, was named by The New York Times as the best volume of 1969 for nine to twelve year olds. Possibly her most famous novel, Tuck Everlasting, the story of a family that is burdended by the gift of eternal life conferred by a magical spring, has seen several film adaptations since its publication in 1975; the most recent of these starred Alexis Bledel of Warner Brother's Gilmore Girls as Winnie Foster, with Ben Kingsley as the Man in the Yellow Suit and Sissy Spacek in the role of Ma Tuck. Another of her books, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, has also been made into a film, and several of her works of fiction for young adults have received literary awards. Her books include:

• The Fourty-Ninth Magician
• Dick Foote and the Shark
• Phoebe's Revolt
• The Search for Delicious
• Tuck Everlasting
• The Eyes of the Amaryllis
• Kneeknock Rise
• The Devil's Storybook
• Herbert Rowbarge
• The Devil's Other Storybook
• Jack Plank Tells Tales (2007)