Once Upon a Time : There was Natalie Babbitt

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The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt c1969 Sunburst edition / Farrar, Straus and Giroux c1985

You, dear reader, are probably familiar with Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting, which deserves it’s place on many a school reading list. But the Babbitt touch is not limited to just one fine story, and the titles here are all very worthy of a reader’s time. The Search for Delicious shows the skill of a storyteller who knows what comes after “Once Upon a Time….”

There is a King
A Young Hero
And a Villain aptly named Hemlock.

All drawn by the author herself. The story begins with a squabble over a definition for the word “Delicious” in a dictionary being written by the Prime Minister. He had no trouble with C ,”Calamitous is saying no to the King.” Everyone could agree with that, but what food is delicious differs for each person. Some think it could only be a mug of beer, others are sure delicious must be fried fish or a Christmas pudding, there is no agreement among the court. Twelve-year-old Gaylen, Special Assistant, is sent out to poll the population of the small kingdom to help determine which food is universally delicious.

Gaylen is happy to set out and see a bit of the world. He has heard stories of woldwellers who live in the forests, and of a mermaid named Ardis, who legend says lives in a lake and mourns the loss of her precious doll. Alas, trouble is brewing as the wicked Hemlock travels ahead of Gaylen sowing disapproval of the King, and spreading rumors of a civil war. All this over a silly disagreement. “Of course it’s silly,” said the Prime Minister impatiently. “But a lot of serious things start silly.”

The Devil’s Storybooks Written and illustrated by Natalie Babbitt Square Fish edition published 2012

Here are combined The Devil’s Storybook c1974 and The Devil’s Other Storybook c1987. The author’s words:

“One day when things were dull in Hell, the Devil fished around in his bag of disguises, dressed himself as a fairy godmother, and came up into the World to find someone to bother. He wandered down the first country road he came to and before long he met a crabby farm wife stumping along with a load of switches on her back.

‘Good morning, my dear,’ said the Devil in his best fairy-godmother voice. ‘It’s a fine day, isn’t it?’

‘It’s not,’ said the farm wife. ‘There hasn’t been a fine day in the World in twenty years.’

‘That long?’ said the Devil.

Things do not go according to the Devil’s plan and as he suddenly ends up back in Hell, with a bump, he said to himself “That’s one I’ll get someday, anyway.” In these twenty clever and insightful stories the Devil is always annoyed, confounded, and surprised by the folks he means to torment. Readers learn that it is impossible for a harp from Heaven to travel successfully to Hell, that “The Sort of People Who Matter” often end up waiting for the ferry across the River Styx, and why there are no longer camels in the Devil’s neighborhood down below.

These stories beg to be read aloud.. Our human foibles and wrongs but also our struggles and victories over them are brought out in the open to talk over with your young people.

The Devil tempts a Very Pretty Lady.

Barking with the Big Dogs by Natalie Babbitt c2018 Farrar, Straus and Giroux : New York

Although it wasn’t her idea to begin with, Natalie Babbitt chose the essays and speeches published here before her death. How we would love to have had a chance to talk with her about children’s books and their place in our world. Here is her response to those who wondered why she chose to write for children. Her concerns and observations about literature and writing from an insider’s viewpoint are important and timely. Her voice is down-to-earth and filled with humor. Great authors have the magic within them and have figured out how to share it. Natalie Babbitt is one of the greats.

Books by Natalie Babbitt:

  • Tuck Everlasting
  • The Eyes of the Amaryllis
  • Herbert Rowbarge
  • The Moon Over High Street
  • Dick Foote and the Shark
  • Phoebe’s Revolt
  • The Search for Delicious
  • Kneeknock Rise
  • The Something
  • Goody Hall
  • The Devil’s Storybook
  • The Devil’s Oher Storybook
  • Nellie: A Cat on Her Own
  • Bub: Or the Very Best Thing
  • Elsie Times Eight
  • Jack Plank Tells Tales

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