[Blog Tour] Tuck Everlasting #Tuck40th

I am so excited to help celebrate Tuck Everlasting's 40th anniversary here on the blog. As a first time reader of both Natalie Babbitt's writing and the amazing Tuck Everlasting, I am truly excited to be helping out as this was such a wonderful gem of a read.

Don't forget, y'all can order the gorgeous 40th anniversary edition of Tuck Everlasting here with the foreward written by Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked).


You can follow the entire 40 Days for 40 Years blog tour for Tuck Everlasting and you can follow everything with #Tuck40th on Twitter.

Today I will be answering the question of “What if you could live forever?” posed by Natalie Babbitt.

It has taken me a few days to decide how to approach the question of, "What if you could live forever?" and I must say that while the answer itself was easy for me to decide upon, it was how to frame it for writing that has plagued me these many days. So, I'm just going to go for it and write what comes to mind.

The short and to the point answer would be a resounding no! Even though there are so many things that one could do while eternally living on in their mortal life, I would still not mess around with that. Sure, if I lived forever I could fluently learn the 10+ languages that I would like to learn; read all the books that so much as caught my fancy; or even travel to all the places I yearn to see. Yet, even with all those things I still cannot see myself taking the route that befell the Tuck family in Tuck Everlasting.

So, if I would so no to living forever the question remains why, of which I shall endeavor to answer.
   Not that all those reason for a continued and never ending existence isn't tempting, but I would miss those I love and would be disappointed to give up on the quest for (God willing) eternity with Him. My faith in the Lord is what really made my answer to this question so easy because (even if it were possible) I just could not (even jokingly) say yes to something that would have me turning my back on Him for earthly reasons.

Even though I review books based on my Catholic faith regularly on the blog, I found it incredibly hard to put into words why I'd say no to living an earthly life till the end of the world. So, I ask for y'all's forgiveness if things seem somewhat muddled.

So, now I'm asking you, "What if you could live forever?"

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt,January 20, 2015 (originally published in 1974). 139 pages. Published by Square Fish. Source: Publisher.

2015 marks the 40th anniversary of Natalie Babbitt’s celebrated, ground-breaking title Tuck Everlasting (Anniversary edition on sale January 20). In celebration of the anniversary, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group will publish a special anniversary edition featuring an introduction from Wicked author Gregory Maguire.

Tuck Everlasting asks readers “What if you could live forever?” Doomed to, or blessed with, eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less of a blessing than it might seem. Then complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

Upon the book’s publication in 1975, Natalie was greeted with concern from parents and educators who were stunned to read a book about death written for children. She is an author who challenges her readers and thinks the best questions are the ones without answers.

This 40th anniversary will introduce a whole new generation to this timeless classic. The book has sold over 3.5 million copies in the US alone, and has never been out of print since publication.

About the author:

NATALIE BABBITT is the award-winning author of Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Knee-Knock Rise, and many other brilliantly original books for young people. She began her career in 1966 as the illustrator of The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband. When her husband became a college president and no longer had time to collaborate, Babbitt tried her hand at writing. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with profound meaning. Knee-Knock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor, and in 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture. Natalie Babbitt lives in Connecticut, and is a grandmother of three.