The Devil's Storybook

By Natalie Babbitt

Every now and then, the Devil likes to pop up into the world for an adventure. He’s a trickster and a mischief-maker, and just as full of vanity and other human failings. But he’s also a gifted storyteller.

I discovered this little gem after looking up books by Natalie Babbitt, who is probably best known for “Tuck Everlasting”. I’ve read a few of her books and enjoy her storytelling. This book has been banned in many schools and towns simply because it’s a book featuring the Devil. Of course this made me even more curious because I could not see Natalie Babbitt writing anything derogatory for children. This is a book full of short stories about the Devil and how he tries to torture and make people’s lives miserable. It ends up being ironic, instructive at times, and pretty humorous. It is one of those books that as a kid reading it, I would’ve been entertained by the stories, but as an adult I was impressed by the underlying wit of the stories. It was interesting to read. It can be along the same tone as Grimm fairy tales.  

I give it a 3 out of 5

Tuck Everlasting

By Natalie Babbitt


This is the exciting adventure of a girl named Winnie Foster who stumbles upon a great secret while roaming the woods one day on her family’s property. There she meets the Tucks, a peculiar family that seem almost childlike to Winnie, and she’s only 11! Filled with adventure, kidnapping, love, life, and death, this powerful story about what living really is will be one story you’ll not soon forget.


If you haven't read this wonderful childrens story you are missing out. My 3rd grade teacher read it to my class and it is one of the few that I actually remembered. Natalie Babbitt is a wonderful writer and this is one of her most famous books; a story about a young girl who feels trapped by her age, her family name, and her prim mother. So in defiance she one day decides to wander into the woods that are on her family's property. To her amazement she finds a handsome young man in a clearing drinking from a spring. When she tells him that she also wants a drink he acts very peculiarly and Winnie becomes frightened when he absolutely will not let her drink. She is wisked away on an adventure that teaches her about life, and what living reallly means.
This is a great book, a short but delightful read. And, much to my surprise, the movie was very good as well. A little different, but I shall always remember the end scene when Jesse is pulling away in the wagon and Winnie is standing in the street and he calls out to her, "I'll love you Winnie Foster, until the day I die!" If you read the book, you'll know why that line makes the romantic in me feel a little melty! Try them both, you'll love them. The main difference is Winnie's age. In the book she is 11, in the movie she is more around 16 or 17. Great great book!