Natalie Babbitt
Who Was Natalie Babbitt?
Natalie Zane Babbitt was born on July 28, 1932, in Dayton, Ohio, and died on October 31, 2016, in Hamden, Connecticut, at the age of 84. She wrote and illustrated more than two dozen books for children across a career that spanned four decades.
Her 1975 novel Tuck Everlasting is the work for which she is best remembered. It has been adapted into two feature films — in 1981 and again in 2002 — and into a Broadway musical that opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 26, 2016, and closed on May 29, 2016.
Early Life: Dayton, Ohio, and a Mother Who Took Her to the Symphony
Natalie Zane Moore was born in Dayton, Ohio, on July 28, 1932, to Ralph Z. Moore and Genevieve Converse Moore. Her family moved frequently during her childhood, first within Ohio, then to Cleveland — a pattern driven by the economic pressures of the Depression.
Her father’s great wit and her mother’s artistic talent were big influences on her and her older sister, Diane. Her mother made every effort to expose Natalie and her sister to music and literature — via the symphony, opera, library, and art museum.
Her mother had decided early on that Diane would be a writer when she grew up. Natalie was pointed toward illustration instead. She spent her childhood drawing and reading, and by her teens she had a clear sense of the direction she wanted to go.
She attended Laurel School, a private girls’ high school in Cleveland. In high school, she coauthored a musical comedy.
Education: From Theater Major to Fine Arts, Smith College
At Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, she began her studies as a theater major, although she soon changed her major to art, claiming she was a “wooden actress.”
She graduated from Smith in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She married Samuel Fisher Babbitt in June 1954, just after her graduation, and the couple moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where Sam began a career as a college administrator.
Career: Starting With Her Husband’s Book, Then Writing Her Own
The Forty-Ninth Magician (1966)
As the mother of three small children, she began her career in 1966 by illustrating The Forty-Ninth Magician, written by her husband, Samuel Babbitt.
Eventually, he became too busy with his job as president of Kirkland College to work with her, and she moved into illustrating her own works and then to writing longer prose. Her editor, Michael di Capua, who would remain her editor for 50 years, encouraged her to write as well as illustrate.
Picture Books and Early Novels (1967–1970)
Babbitt published two picture books in verse — Dick Foote and the Shark in 1967 and Phoebe’s Revolt in 1968 — both self-illustrated. The Search for Delicious, her first novel, followed in 1969.
Newbery Honor for Kneeknock Rise (1971)
Her first big success came in 1971, when the picture book Knee-Knock Rise earned her the first Newbery Honor of her career.
The Devil’s Storybook (1974)
The Devil’s Storybook, a collection of ten short stories, appeared in 1974. It received the Christopher Award for juvenile fiction in 1976.
Tuck Everlasting (1975): The Book She Wrote for Her Daughter
The bucolic spot where she lived “appears almost exactly as itself” in Tuck Everlasting, Babbitt noted in her autobiography. “I had long before that made up my mind about what was going to happen when I died. But I wrote Tuck to help Lucy understand what life is all about — that we all get born and we all have to die.”
Lucy was her daughter. The novel was, at its root, a parent’s letter to a child about mortality.
Tuck Everlasting tells the story of ten-year-old Winnie Foster, who discovers a family — the Tucks — who drank from a spring that made them immortal. Babbitt uses the premise to ask whether a life without death is truly a life at all.
The novel was named an ALA Notable Book on publication. It ranked among the “Top 100 Chapter Books” of all time by the School Library Journal.
The 2002 film adaptation starred William Hurt and Sissy Spacek as the Tucks, Alexis Bledel as Winnie Foster, and Ben Kingsley as the man in the yellow suit.
The Broadway musical adaptation premiered in Atlanta on February 4, 2015, and opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 26, 2016 — seven months before Babbitt’s death.
Later Works and Continued Illustration
Babbitt published The Eyes of the Amaryllis in 1977, Herbert Rowbarge in 1982, and The Devil’s Other Storybook in 1987. The Eyes of the Amaryllis was adapted into a film in 1982.
She also illustrated five collections by the children’s poet Valerie Worth, beginning with Small Poems in 1972. Michael di Capua, who remained her editor for 50 years, said of their partnership: “I can’t imagine my life without Natalie in it. What a blessing we found each other way back when.”
Her last published work appeared in 2012. Across her career, she wrote 20 books and illustrated 10 more.
Awards and Recognition
- 1971 — Newbery Honor, Kneeknock Rise
- 1975 — ALA Notable Book, Tuck Everlasting
- 1975 — New York Times Best Books designation, Tuck Everlasting
- 1976 — Christopher Award for juvenile fiction, The Devil’s Storybook
- 1976 — Horn Book Honor Book citation, Tuck Everlasting
- 2012 — Inaugural E.B. White Award for achievement in children’s literature, American Academy of Arts and Letters
A New York Times Book Review published in 1977 called her “indisputably one of our most gifted and ambitious writers for children.”
Personal Life
Natalie married Samuel Fisher Babbitt in June 1954. They had three children: Dr. Christopher Converse Babbitt, Thomas Collier Babbitt, and Lucy Collier Babbitt. The couple had three grandchildren.
Samuel Babbitt served as president of Kirkland College in Clinton, New York. Babbitt and her husband hosted the entire Kirkland College faculty in their house every Christmas season.
Professor of Comparative Literature Peter Rabinowitz noted: “Natalie absolutely did not fill the role of president’s wife the way that role is usually played.”
Babbitt described herself as holding an “Ohio life view” — “the feeling that certain things are right, and that’s that.”
Her hobbies included needlework, piano, and word puzzles. She was a registered Democrat and a member of the Authors Guild, the Authors League of America, and PEN American Center.
Death
Natalie Babbitt died of lung cancer on October 31, 2016, at her home in Hamden, Connecticut. She was 84. She is buried at Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.
Today — October 31, 2026 — marks exactly ten years since her death.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Natalie Zane Babbitt (born Moore) |
| Date of Birth | July 28, 1932 |
| Place of Birth | Dayton, Ohio, USA |
| Date of Death | October 31, 2016 |
| Place of Death | Hamden, Connecticut, USA |
| Resting Place | Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut |
| Education | Laurel School, Cleveland; Smith College, B.A. Fine Arts, 1954 |
| Husband | Samuel Fisher Babbitt (married June 1954) |
| Children | Christopher Converse Babbitt; Thomas Collier Babbitt; Lucy Collier Babbitt |
| Best-Known Work | Tuck Everlasting (1975) |
| Books Written | 20 |
| Books Illustrated | 10 |
| Career Active | 1966–2012 |
| Cause of Death | Lung cancer |
Full Discography
Books Written and Self-Illustrated
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Dick Foote and the Shark |
| 1968 | Phoebe’s Revolt |
| 1969 | The Search for Delicious |
| 1970 | Kneeknock Rise |
| 1971 | Goody Hall |
| 1974 | The Devil’s Storybook |
| 1975 | Tuck Everlasting |
| 1977 | The Eyes of the Amaryllis |
| 1982 | Herbert Rowbarge |
| 1987 | The Devil’s Other Storybook |
| 1989 | Nellie: A Cat on Her Own |
Books Illustrated for Others
| Year | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Samuel Babbitt | The Forty-Ninth Magician |
| 1972 | Valerie Worth | Small Poems |
| 1976 | Valerie Worth | More Small Poems |
| 1978 | Valerie Worth | Still More Small Poems |
| 1985 | Valerie Worth | Small Poems Again |
| 1986 | Valerie Worth | All the Small Poems |
Adaptations of Tuck Everlasting
| Year | Medium | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Film | First feature film adaptation |
| 2002 | Film | Disney; William Hurt, Sissy Spacek, Alexis Bledel, Ben Kingsley |
| 2015–2016 | Broadway Musical | Premiered in Atlanta, February 4, 2015; Broadway run April 26 – May 29, 2016 |
