Tuck Everlasting takes place in the year 1881. Although Babbitt does not specify an exact location, she has mentioned that she envisioned a blend of the densely wooded Ohio frontier, tamed by her ancestors in a previous century, and the Adirondack foothills of New York, where she resided while writing the book. Winnie Foster lives in a respectable, middle-class home with a fenced yard on the outskirts of the town of Treegap. Her family is believed to own the nearby Treegap wood, but in reality, no one truly owns it. This ancient, enigmatic woodland is suggested by Babbitt to be a remnant from an earlier creation. At its heart, guarded by magic, is the fountain of eternal life—a small, unremarkable spring at the base of an old ash tree.

Babbitt contrasts the meticulous orderliness of Winnie's home and yard with the wild abundance of nature and, ironically, with the decaying and disordered state of the Tucks' cabin. When Winnie faces the decision of returning to her family or staying with the Tucks, the setting serves as a visual metaphor for her dilemma. Her previous life was as confining as the fence that kept her at home. Life with the Tucks, although seemingly offering endless new possibilities, might ultimately be just as restrictive and far more chaotic.

What immediately stands out to most critics about Babbitt's work is how distinct it is from other contemporary children's literature. During the 1960s and 1970s, as more writers for young audiences began producing works that embraced new realism and addressed social and political issues directly, Babbitt was crafting a series of books like Tuck Everlasting. These gentle, somewhat philosophical novels, written in a subtle and slightly old-fashioned prose style, are predominantly set in a somewhat fantastical, almost always pastoral pre-twentieth-century world. However, Babbitt's fiction also does not comfortably fit into the popular young adult genre of high fantasy. Although connections can be drawn between Tuck Everlasting and the works of Lloyd Alexander, Alan Garner, or Ursula K. Le Guin, Tuck lacks the heroic call to arms, the intense action, and the larger-than-life achievements that are hallmarks of Tolkien's descendants.

However, to say that Babbitt's fiction lacks the somewhat exaggerated violence common in both new realism and high fantasy does not mean it is without impact. Babbitt's novels often revolve around a single violent event, such as the death of a loved one in a carriage accident or shipwreck, or, in the case of Tuck Everlasting, the killing of a malevolent character. Babbitt then explores the repercussions of this violence on the other characters. For example, Mae Tuck's killing of the stranger highlights to Winnie Foster her own mortality and the possibility of immortality offered by the Tucks.

Babbitt's work also has a somewhat old-fashioned quality due to its use of allusions to folklore, mythology, and classic literature. In Tuck Everlasting, for instance, there are numerous references to the wheel of life and the cycle of the seasons. Even the supposedly uneducated old Angus Tuck understands that "dying's part of the wheel" and recognizes that he and his family have somehow fallen off. The fountain of eternal life, located at the base of an ash tree, clearly alludes to Yggdrasil, the Norse symbol of the universe, beneath which lies the fountain of immortality. There is also a nod to Richard Lovelace's classic poem "To Althea, from Prison": "Stone walls do not a prison make/ Nor iron bars a cage."

Tuck Everlasting is a favorite among librarians and junior high school teachers, partly because Babbitt presents Winnie with a series of significant and clearly illustrated moral dilemmas that resonate with younger adolescents. However, the book has faced occasional criticism from adult readers who disapprove of Winnie's decisions. First, Winnie chooses to lie and claim she wasn't kidnapped by the Tucks. She then has to come to terms with Mae Tuck's killing of the stranger, which was somewhat justified. The stranger intended to sell the magical water at an exorbitant price and tried to force Winnie to drink it against her will, implying he would exploit her in a freak show. He also threatened to reveal the Tucks' secret. After Mae is arrested for murder, Winnie must decide whether to defy her parents and help Mae escape from jail. Most crucially, she must decide whether to accept the Tucks' offer of eternal life.

Babbitt firmly states that there will never be a sequel to Tuck Everlasting, despite numerous requests. She believes that the Tucks' story is only compelling as it intersects with Winnie Foster's life. For this reason, she has also declined an offer for a television series based on the book. However, there is a film adaptation of Tuck Everlasting, which remains largely faithful to the novel and has garnered positive reviews. Directed by Frederick King Keller and filmed in upstate New York in 1980, the movie stars Margaret Chamberlain and Paula Flessa. It is available on videotape.

Despite her stance on Tuck Everlasting, many of Babbitt's other novels share a crucial theme with it. If there is one overarching message in her work, it is the importance of reconciling with both the past and the passage of time. The Tuck family, having drunk from the fountain, is essentially frozen in time, with nothing changing for them. Similarly, in several of Babbitt's other novels, characters are left scarred and unable to move forward due to traumatic events.

In The Eyes of the Amaryllis, an elderly woman spends her entire life mourning her shipwrecked husband's death. In Goody Hall, a wealthy woman isolates herself from the world for years, grieving her husband's death. This inability to come to terms with the past has strained both women's relationships with their children. While the Tucks are eternally removed from the cycle of life, the grieving characters in The Eyes of the Amaryllis and Goody Hall eventually get a second chance. Babbitt's latest novel, Herbert Rowbarge, explores a man haunted throughout his life by the vague memory of a twin brother from whom he was separated at birth. Like the Tucks, Mrs. Goody, and the old woman in The Eyes of the Amaryllis, he struggles to come to terms with his past and move on with his life.

Babbitt, Natalie. "The Great American Novel for Children—And Why Not." The Horn Book Magazine 50 (April 1974): 176-175. In this essay, Babbitt shares her views on modern children's and adolescent fiction. By highlighting what she dislikes about these books, she provides significant insight into her own approach to writing.

"The Roots of Fantasy." The Bulletin 12 (Spring 1986): 2-4. Babbitt argues that a love for fantasy is deeply ingrained in human nature.

"Something Has to Happen." The Lion and the Unicorn 9 (1985): 7-10. Babbitt explores plot motivation and the sense of powerlessness experienced by many children.

Hartvigsen, M. Kip, and Christen Brog Hartvigsen. "'Rough and Soft Both at Once': Winnie Foster's Initiation in Tuck Everlasting." Children's Literature in Education 18 (Fall 1987): 176-183. This article provides a clear analysis of Winnie Foster's gradual understanding of the moral dilemmas she encounters.

Levy, Michael M. Natalie Babbitt. Boston: Twayne, 1991. Part of the Twayne United States Authors Series, this book is the first comprehensive study of Babbitt's fiction.

MacLeod, Anne S. "Natalie Babbitt." In Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick. New York: St. Martin's, 1978. This is a brief introduction to Babbitt and her body of work.

Moss, Anita. "Natalie Babbitt." In American Writers for Children Since 1960: Fiction, edited by Glenn E. Estes. Detroit: Gale Research, 1986. Moss, a noted critic, has authored several articles on Babbitt's work. This is the most comprehensive general survey of her work currently available.

Pflieger, Pat. A Reference Guide to Modern Fantasy for Children. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. This book includes detailed entries on "Tuck Everlasting," "Angus Tuck," "Jesse Tuck," "Mae Tuck," "Miles Tuck," "Winnie Foster," "The Stranger," and "The Spring." Together, these entries help readers review essential information about the plot, characters, and setting.