Natalie Babbitt grew up wanting to be a writer and an illustrator and has fulfilled

this childhood dream. The first book she illustrated was written by her husband
and called The Forty-Ninth Magician. Her first novel was The Search for Deli-
cious, which she describes as a complicated fairy tale. Many of Babbitts other
books are also fantasies set in the past. She works hard at using accurate descrip-
tions in her books. For example, when writing Eyes of the Amaryllis, a book set
in nineteenth-century Cape Cod, Babbitt did a lot of research on hurricanes
which play an important role in the story. She also consulted tide charts of the
period. To Babbitt, writing is hard, hard work.
She advocates ceaseless reading for those
who aspire to such a career.
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