Tuck Everlasting (The Graphic Novel)

Artist and writer Natalie Babbitt (1932–2016) is the award-winning author of the modern classic Tuck Everlasting and many other brilliantly original books for young people. As the mother of three small children, she began her career in 1966 by illustrating The Forty-Ninth Magician, written by her husband, Samuel Babbitt. She soon tried her own hand at writing, publishing two picture books in verse. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, was published in 1969 and established her reputation for creating magical tales with profound meaning. Kneeknock Rise earned Babbitt a Newbery Honor in 1971, and she went on to write―and often illustrate―many more picture books, story collections, and novels. She also illustrated the five volumes in the Small Poems series by Valerie Worth. In 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture, and in 2016 a musical version premiered on Broadway. Born and raised in Ohio, Natalie Babbitt lived her adult life in the Northeast.

As a child, cartoonist K. Woodman-Maynard grew up with undiagnosed learning disabilities and struggled to learn how to read and write. Instead, she dove into the world of storytelling through her art, which is what she continues to do to this day. K.’s debut, The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, was called “hugely rewarding” by The Wall Street Journal. She’s a graduate of Harvard University, where she studied animation, and has worked as an animator, designer, and illustrator for companies such as Capital One, TOMS, and Nickelodeon. In addition to making graphic novels, K. leads workshops; works as a comics coach; and has a weekly Substack newsletter, Creating Comics, where she encourages artists to create more and feel less bad about themselves in the process. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her spouse and an enthusiastic dog.

★ “This 50th-anniversary celebration of a literally timeless classic brings Babbitt’s novel to life in a graphic novel format. Sticking closely to the storyline as she visually fleshes out its themes and characters, Woodman-Maynard serves up a sensitive reworking that invites readers to think about what they would do if they were given the choice between a normal, finite life and an endless one . . . An homage navigated with confidence and care, as wise and wonderful as the original.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “­Woodman-Maynard achieves the seemingly impossible task of enhancing a much beloved classic novel . . . Through lush, atmospheric watercolors, Babbitt’s lyrical and ­descriptive language is brought to life, creating palpable visualizations . . . This faithful and beautiful adaptation is a must purchase.” ―School Library Journal, starred review

“In this graphic novel adaptation of Babbitt’s classic novel, published 50 years earlier, the same melancholy, thoughtful mood of the original story is unmistakably present . . . Woodman-Maynard comments in the backmatter that she used exact wording as much as possible, and she pulls some of the most extraordinary quotes from the original. Remarkably, her illustrations do their intended work of filling in the rest, drawings that tell a story of longing, danger, loss, and hope as much as the text.” ―BCCB

“Warm pastel shades of ink and watercolor transport the reader into the sweltering summer days of August. A beautiful reintroduction to this timeless tale of beauty in life’s fleeting moments.” ―Booklist