Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Let's Bust a Recap : Tuck Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting was the last book I read in March, and I immediately fell in love with this sweet little story. Originally published in 1975, this children's novel by Natalie Babbitt has gone on to win a whole passel of awards, has been adapted twice for the screen and also into a musical.

Telling the story of eleven year old Winnie Foster and her accidental discovery of the Tuck family who are blessed with doomed to eternal life after drinking from a secret spring, this short novel explores the concept of immortality and how it might not be all it's cracked up to be. It has sold over five million copies and has been called a classic of modern children's literature.

And I'm here for it. I was delighted with the writing and Babbitt's talent for creating winsome imagery. I was compelled by the story and didn't want to put the book down. And I was a little sad that I somehow missed this book during my childhood. This is definitely a story I will revisit and I think it would have been an easy favorite with me when I was younger. It's a new favorite now, for sure.

My only exposure to this story prior to finally reading it was seeing the 2002 Disney film adaptation starring Alexis Bledel as Winnie when it came out. At that time, the movie didn't really make an impression on me and certainly didn't pique my interest in reading the book. I kindof forgot about it and moved on with my life. Enter #bookstagram. When I joined that little community at the end of 2018, I discovered that there are definitely some big-time fans of this children's novel so I tucked that away in my memory bank and when I happened across this old copy at The Book Shelter, I brought it home and stuck it on the shelf. After reading it, I decided to revisit the movie (Disney+ for the win!) and I can now fully appreciate it for the travesty it is. Having only just read this book for the first time, it has so fully wormed its way into my heart that watching the movie was an affront to my literary senses. I will admit that I'm a bit of book snob when it comes to film adaptations, but this one was a particularly poor representation of such a wonderful book.

All said, I highly recommend reading Tuck Everlasting and just as highly discourage watching the movie. I hope you will be just as delighted with it as I was and that you fall in love with Winnie Foster and the Tuck family forever.

Have you ever read Tuck Everlasting or seen the 2002 movie? What is one of your all-time favorite children's novels?

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