Tuck Everlasting facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tuck Everlasting

First edition with Babbitt illustration
Author	Natalie Babbitt
Country	United States
Genre	Children's fantasy novel, drama
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	1975
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	139
ISBN	9780374480127
LC Class	PZ7.B1135 Tu

Tuck Everlasting is a popular American children's novel. It was written by Natalie Babbitt and first published in 1975. The story is about a family who discovers how to live forever. It has sold more than 5 million copies. Many people consider it a classic book for young readers.

The book has been made into two movies. One came out in 1981 and another in 2002. It has also been turned into a stage musical.

Story Summary

Winifred "Winnie" Foster is a ten-year-old girl. She lives in a village called Treegap. Winnie feels her family is too strict and decides to run away. One evening, a man in a yellow suit visits her home. He is looking for information. Winnie, her grandmother, and the man hear music from a music box. It comes from the woods near Winnie's house.

Winnie Meets the Tucks

The next morning, Winnie explores the woods. Her family owns the woods but never goes into them. She sees a young man, Jesse Tuck, drinking from a small spring. Winnie asks his age. He first says he is 104 years old. Then he quickly changes it to seventeen. Winnie wants to drink from the spring too. But Jesse stops her. When Winnie mentions her father, Jesse gets scared. He worries she will tell about the spring.

Jesse's mother, Mae, and brother, Miles, arrive. They take Winnie to their home. They ask her not to be afraid. On their way, they pass the man in the yellow suit.

The Tucks' Secret

The Tuck family explains their secret. Eighty-seven years ago, they traveled through the woods. They were looking for land to farm. They drank from the spring. After twenty years, the Tucks realized they were not getting older. Miles's wife left him. She took their children with her. The Tucks had to leave their farm. They went back towards Treegap. They saw that the area around the spring had not changed. That is when they understood the spring made them immortal.

Winnie quickly starts to like the Tucks. Angus, the father, explains that he wishes he could grow old and die. He asks Winnie to keep their secret. He says if others found out, they would drink the water. Then they would regret living forever. That evening, Jesse suggests something to Winnie. He asks her to drink from the spring when she turns seventeen. Then she could live forever with him.

The Man in the Yellow Suit's Plan

The man in the yellow suit steals the Tucks' horse. He rides to Winnie's home. He tells her family that the Tucks have kidnapped Winnie. He promises to rescue her. In return, he wants to own the Fosters' woods. He tells the constable where the Tucks live. Then he rides ahead to meet the Tucks alone.

He tells the Tucks a story. His grandmother had a friend. This friend's husband had not aged in twenty years. The friend left him and took their children. The husband's mother owned a music box. The man in the yellow suit learned its tune from his grandmother. She learned it from her friend. Two nights ago, he heard the same tune. Mae was playing it in the Fosters' woods. He followed the Tucks and listened to their story. Now, he legally owns the woods and the spring. He plans to sell the spring water. He says it will be "very, very expensive."

The man in the yellow suit offers to pay the Tucks. He wants them to show everyone they cannot be harmed. Angus Tuck gets angry and refuses. The man drags Winnie outside. He announces that after Winnie drinks the water, she can be used for demonstrations. Mae hits him on the head with a shotgun. The man falls just as the constable arrives.

Mae's Escape

Winnie tells the constable that the Tucks are her friends. She says they did not kidnap her. The constable takes Winnie home. He locks Mae in the village jail. The man in the yellow suit dies. Mae is now in jail. The Tucks and Winnie realize something important. If Mae is executed, it will show everyone their secret.

The next evening, Jesse visits Winnie. He explains that Miles has a plan. They will break Mae out of jail. Jesse gives Winnie a bottle of water from the spring. He asks her to drink it when she turns seventeen. Winnie offers to help Mae escape. At midnight, Winnie and the Tucks go to the jail. Miles removes the window from Mae's cell. Winnie takes Mae's place inside the cell. In the dark, the constable thinks Winnie is Mae. He does not realize Mae has escaped until morning. By then, the Tucks are gone.

The constable is very angry. He yells at Winnie for helping a criminal. He says if she were older, he would have kept her in jail. Winnie is not punished because she is too young by law.

Winnie's Choice

Two weeks later, Winnie sees a toad. A dog is threatening it. She picks up the toad. She pours the water from Jesse's bottle over it.

Many years later, in 1950, Mae and Angus Tuck return to Treegap. They learn that the woods burned down three years earlier, in 1947. Lightning struck it. The area was cleared, and now a gas station stands there. Angus finds Winnie's grave. He learns she died two years ago, in 1948. She had been married and had children. He feels proud of her choice. As they leave town, they see a toad on the road. Angus moves it to the side. He says the toad must think it will live forever.

Main Characters

• Winifred "Winnie" Foster – She is the main character of the book. Winnie is 10 years old at the start of the story. She lives in Treegap. Her family is the oldest in the village. She grows to care deeply for the Tuck family. She also has a crush on Jesse Tuck.
• Angus Tuck – He is the father of the Tuck children. Angus does not like being immortal. He dreams of growing old and going to heaven.
• Mae Tuck – She is the mother of the Tuck children and Angus's wife. Mae is happy with her simple life. She wears old clothes and lives in a cozy, messy house.
• Jesse Tuck – He is the youngest in his family. Jesse is 104 years old but looks like he is seventeen. He enjoys living forever. But he feels lonely. He asks Winnie to drink the spring water when she is 17. Then they could be together forever.
• Miles Tuck – He looks like he is 22 years old. Miles is Jesse's older brother. He is five years older than Jesse, so he is actually 109 years old. He worked as a carpenter and a blacksmith. His wife divorced him. She thought he had a secret reason for staying young after they were married for almost 20 years.
• The Man In The Yellow Suit – This man tries to find Winnie. He wants to return her to her family. In exchange, he wants to own the woods. When he tries to take Winnie, Mae hits him with a gun. He dies the next day from his injuries.
• Betsy Foster – She is Winnie's mother.

Awards and Recognition

Tuck Everlasting has won several awards. These include the Janusz Korczak Medal and the 1976 Christopher Award. It was recognized as a great book for young people. It was also named an ALA Notable Book. The Horn Book Magazine included it on its Fanfare List. In 2005, it was featured in The 100 Best Books for Children.

In 2007, a survey by the National Education Association listed it. It was one of the "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." In 2012, a survey by School Library Journal ranked it. It was number 16 among the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time. The Broadway musical based on the book also received an award nomination. Gregg Barnes was nominated for Best Costume Design for a Musical.

Adaptations

The novel has been made into two movies and a musical. The first movie came out in 1981. The second movie was made by Disney in 2002. It was directed by Jay Russell. Alexis Bledel played Winnie. Jonathan Jackson played Jesse. William Hurt was Angus, and Sissy Spacek was Mae. Ben Kingsley played the man in the yellow suit. The movie received good reviews. It made over $19 million in the United States.

The novel was also adapted into a stage musical. Chris Miller wrote the music. Nathan Tysen wrote the lyrics. Claudia Shear and Tim Federle wrote the story for the stage. The musical first played at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in 2015. It then opened on Broadway on March 31, 2016. It played at the Broadhurst Theatre. The show closed on May 29, 2016. The cast included Carolee Carmello as Mae and Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Jesse. Sarah Charles Lewis played Winnie.

See also

In Spanish: Tuck Everlasting para niños