I found this classic children’s book in my neighbourhood’s Little Free Library (take a book, share a book), and knew I had to read it.
Set in the 1880s, 10-year-old Winnie Foster decides to run away from her sheltered life.
She stumbles upon a spring in the woods on her property, and discovers something unbelievable.
The water grants immortality to those who drink it.
Winnie meets the Tuck family, who are stuck at the same age they were when they drank from the spring, over eighty years earlier.
Soon Winnie gets caught up in the Tuck family’s adventure and she must decide if she will choose to join them, and also live forever.
While this book was first published in 1975, the big issues author Natalie Babbitt raises are timeless.
What would you do if you could live forever? Would having eternal life be a blessing or a curse?
“Know what that is, all around us, Winnie?” said Tuck, his voice low. “Life. Moving, growing, changing, never the same two minutes together.”
In this book not only do we get the opportunity to understand the importance of change, growth and the cycles of life and death, we also see how humans can be greedy, deceitful and loving and kind.
Written for middle grade children, this short novel is a quick, engaging, and exciting read.
If you or a child in your life are ready to grapple with big question about life and death then you won’t want to miss reading Tuck Everlasting.
Helps with: the connection between life and death, cycle of life, the impact of greed, the value of love and human connection, and the importance of change.
Author: Natalie Babbitt
Publisher: MacMillan Publishers, 2007