Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Reading Natalie Babbitt


The Search For Delicious by Natalie Babbitt
A young mermaid's heart breaks when her favorite doll is inexplicably locked up in her underwater playhouse. Centuries later, a king sends a twelve-year-old boy out to survey his kingdom in search of the perfect description of the word 'delicious.' These two story lines weave together to build the beautiful tapestry of a surprising and charming story

Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbitt
Folks from far and wide are both thrilled by and terrified of the mysterious and menacing life force that lives on top of Kneeknock Rise. When a young boy finds the courage to hike to the mountaintop and learns the truth, he's not sure what to do with this new information. A poignant tale about the human need for mystery.

Goody Hall by Natalie Babbit
A young man seizes an opportunity to tutor the son of a wealthy family that lives in a remarkable mansion called Goody Hall. He meets a charming cast of characters who fill in bits and pieces of the family history, and what he learns is that money cannot buy happiness. The house takes on a personality of its own and what happens to it in the end is shocking.

Natalie Babbitt has a way of knitting together stories with the comfortable, soft familiarity of a classic fairy tale, as seen through fresh and imaginative eyes. As I read, I keep nudging up against a familiar place in my mind, as if this was a story once told to me as a tiny child, sitting on my grandmother's lap.

Little bits and pieces of the tale are at once fondly familiar but just beyond my memory's reach, like an emotion on the tip of my tongue that I can't quite name until the words unfold and I see it there in black and white. Each novel stirs up in me the same delight for whimsical people and places that exist out of our time, where incredible things happen that just might be true.

You never know.

For a long time, I thought this power came from Babbitt's prowess as a writer, in her ability to weave a wonderful story. But now I'm quite sure that the magic is Babbitt herself/

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If you'd like to read my reviews of my favorite Natalie Babbitt book of all time, go here:

 2012

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Read more about what I've been reading:

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