Natalie Babbitt
| Natalie Babbitt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Natalie Zane Moore[1] July 28, 1932 Dayton, Ohio |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | BA (Arts) |
| Alma mater | Smith College |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | Tuck Everlasting |
| Notable awards | 1982 Hans Christian Andersen Award U.S. nomination |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Spouse | Samuel Fisher Babbitt[2] |
| Children | Three |
Natalie Babbitt (born July 28, 1932)[1][3] is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. For her contributions as a children's writer, she was U.S. nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1982.[4]
Biography
Born Natalie Zane Moore in Dayton, Ohio,[1] Babbitt studied at Laurel School in Cleveland and Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She is married to Samuel Fisher Babbitt and the couple have three children, born between 1956 and 1960.[5] The family lived in Samuel's home town of New Haven, Connecticut, until he earned a PhD in 1965 and became the president of Kirkland College in Clinton, New York (1965 to 1978).[2]
The Babbitts collaborated to create The Forty-ninth Magician, a picture book that he wrote and she illustrated, published by Pantheon Books in 1966. Samuel became too busy to participate but editor Michael di Capua, at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, encouraged Natalie to continue producing children's books.[6] After writing and illustrating two short books in verse, she turned to children's novels, and her second effort in that vein, Knee-Knock Rise, was awarded a Newbery Honor in 1971.[7]
Tuck Everlasting, published in 1975, was named an ALA Notable book and continues to be popular with teachers.[8] It was ranked number 16 among the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time in a 2012 survey published by School Library Journal.[9] Two of her books have been adapted as movies: Tuck Everlasting twice, in 1981[10] and 2002,[11] and The Eyes of the Amaryllis in 1982.[12] At the present time, "Tuck Everlasting" is being prepared as a Broadway musical, opening in Atlanta on February 4, 2015. In addition to her own writing, Babbitt has also illustrated a number of books by Valerie Worth.
Reception
In 1977, The New York Times called Babbitt "Indisputably one of our most gifted and ambitious writers for children".[13]
In 1982, another Times reviewer, George Woods, enjoyed Babbitt's Herbert Rowbarge. "Mrs. Babbitt creates a plausible world and peoples it with believable humans, but the most satisfaction comes from the pleasure of her company as she effortlessly takes the reader in velvet-gloved hand to point out life's coincidences and near misses."[14]
In 2002, Melanie Rehak, also writing in the Times, described Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting as a "slim, ruminative" novel, and stated that "From the moment it appeared, it has been fiercely loved by children and their parents for its honest, intelligent grappling with aging and death."[15]
In 2012, Babbitt was awarded the inaugural E.B. White Award for achievement in children's literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.[16]
Bibliography
Picture books (‡) were written and illustrated by Babbitt unless noted otherwise.
As writer
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As illustrator
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References
- 1 2 3 "Babbitt, Natalie". Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- 1 2 "Babbitt, Samuel F.". LC Authorities. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Babbitt, Natalie". Children's books and their creators. Anita Silvey, editor. Houghton Mifflin. 1995. p. 43.
- ↑ "Candidates for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards 1956–2002". The Hans Christian Andersen Awards, 1956–2002. IBBY. Gyldendal. 2002. Pages 110–18. Hosted by Austrian Literature Online (literature.at). Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Natalie Babbitt". Courtesy of Natalie Babbitt. 1996. ipl2 (ipl.org). Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Biography: Natalie Babbitt". Scholastic Teachers (scholastic.com/teachers). Retrieved September 24, 2015. With linked transcript of interview by Scholastic students (no date).
- ↑ "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
"The John Newbery Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved February 5, 2013. - ↑ "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". National Education Association. 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ↑ Bird, Elizabeth (July 7, 2012). "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results". A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. School Library Journal (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com). Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Tuck Everlasting (1981) Allmovie entry
- ↑ Tuck Everlasting (2002) Allmovie entry
- ↑ The Eyes of the Amaryllis (1982) Allmovie entry
- ↑ Lanes, Selma G. (November 13, 1977). "Love Story, Sea Story". The New York Times Book Review. pp. BR10. Retrieved May 13, 2012. Entire article available by subscription or purchase only.
- ↑ Woods, George A. (November 30, 1982). "Books of The Times". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ↑ Rehak, Melanie (October 6, 2002). "Film: Falling for a Children's Tale of an Age-Old Wish". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ↑ "Providence's 'Tuck Everlasting' author honored with first E.B. White Award". Providence Journal. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
- ↑ "The Big book for peace". WorldCat. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
External links
- Natalie Babbitt at NCBLA Board of Directors – with two speeches
- Natalie Babbitt Papers finding aid at University of Connecticut – with biography
- Natalie Babbitt at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Natalie Babbitt at Library of Congress Authorities, with 31 catalog records
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