Elsie Times Eight

Natalie Babbitt was born Natalie Zane Moore in Dayton, Ohio on July 28, 1932. As a child, she wanted to be an illustrator. She received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Smith College. She and her husband Sam Babbitt collaborated on a children's book The Forty-Ninth Magician, which was published in 1966.

At the urging of her husband and her editor, she decided to write her own prose. Her first book as both author and illustrator was The Search for Delicious, which was published in 1969. Her novels included Goody Hall, The Devil's Storybook, Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Herbert Rowbarge, and The Moon Over High Street. She wrote and illustrated several picture books including Nellie: A Cat on Her Own; Bub, or, The Very Best Thing; and Elsie Times Eight. Kneeknock Rise was named a 1971 Newbery Honor book. In 2013, she won the inaugural E. B. White Award for achievement in children's literature. Tuck Everlasting was adapted as a Disney feature film in 2002 and made its debut as a Broadway musical in 2016. She also illustrated five books for Valerie Worth. She died of lung cancer on October 31, 2016 at the age of 84.

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