Happy birthday, Natalie Babbitt! Natalie Babbitt was born on July 28th in Ohio and, encouraged by her mother, wanted to be an illustrator, specifically a children's book illustrator, because books played a very large part in her life as a child. She read endlessly, mostly fairy tales and myth, was read to, as well, and those stories left a deep impression. Natalie majored in art at Smith College. Husband, Samuel Babbitt, wrote her first book, The Forty-ninth Magician, in 1966, and when she grew impatient for a second manuscript, Natalie decided to write one for herself. Writing soon became far more important to her than illustrating. She is especially known by children and children's librarians for Tuck Everlasting, a story about a sheltered girl named Winnie who encounters the Tuck family when she ventures into the woods. The family members have become immortal by inadvertently drinking water from a magical source. For the Tuck family, a life without growth and change is not paradise. This is a story about accepting and embracing all the challenges and changes, joyous and sad, that life has to offer. "Only in a children's book can a writer take advantage of the widest range of symbolism, express a basic optimism, and have at his disposal the whole vast richness that fantasy can offer."