Synopses & Reviews
From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep for the annual fair, he is entranced by the fable surrounding the misty peak of Kneeknock Rise: On stormy nights when the rain drives harsh and cold, an undiscovered creature raises its voice and moans. Nobody knows what it is—nobody has ever dared to try to find out and come back again. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find an answer to the mystery.Kneeknock Rise is a 1971 Newbery Honor Book.
Review
“Heres a wonderfully fluent fable about mans need to have something to believe in. . . . The strength of this tale is in Natalie Babbitts clean, modern, very confident telling. For children, especially, this is fine writing.”—
School Library Journal, Starred Review
“An enchanting tale imbued with a folk flavor.”—Booklist, Starred Review
“The allegory seems to have grown slowly and surely, so much folk feeling does it have along with its symbolism and satire. Beautifully and clearly written, the story can be read aloud with pleasure.”—The Horn Book Magazine
“Natalie Babbitts prose is as clean as her pen line. Like The Search . . . delicious.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The theme is ageless—it poses the questions: Who is the fool? Who is the wise man? With help from her characters and from a sly cat and a very endearing old dog, Natalie Babbitt gives a brilliant answer—brilliant because her star, with each new book she writes, shines brighter in the universe of childrens books.”—Publishers Weekly
“Fantasy for the whole family.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A delightful fantasy stressing mans need for a belief in the supernatural.”—The Kansas City Star
Synopsis
Who is the wise man? Who is the fool? From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep, he senses the spell cast over the villagers by the Megrimum—the mysterious something that lurks on the mist-wreathed peak of Kneeknock Rise. Everyone shudders in horror—delicious horror—whenever the Megrimum's unearthly wail floats down to the village. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find a practical explanation for those wails.
Synopsis
Who is the wise man? Who is the fool?
About the Author
A gifted artist and writer, Natalie Babbitt’s novels are inspired by a brilliance and imagination that is completely original. She began her career in 1966 with the publication of a picture book, The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband, Samuel Fisher Babbitt. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with a more profound meaning embedded within them. Kneeknock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor Medal, but it is Tuck Everlasting which has insured Babbitt’s place in the history of children’s literature. This modern classic, which has also been made recently into a major motion picture starring Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, and Sissy Spacek, asks an enduring and powerful question: If we could live forever, would we want to?
Babbitt has written six more novels including The Eyes of the Amaryllis and Goody Hall—each one presenting her unique vision of an enchanted world. Her latest novel, Jack Plank Tells Tales, was published in Spring 2007.
Natalie Babbitt lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a grandmother of three. When asked what she wants readers to remember about her books, she replied, “the questions without answers.”