Kneeknock Rise - by Natalie Babbitt (Paperback)

About the Book

In this Newbery Honor book, Natalie Babbitt explores a communitys powerful need for the superstitions that define their beliefs and their culture. Illustrations.

Book Synopsis

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 Quotes

"Here's a wonderfully fluent fable about man's need to have something to believe in. . . . The strength of this tale is in Natalie Babbitt's 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 Babbitt's 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 children's books." --Publishers Weekly

"Fantasy for the whole family." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A delightful fantasy stressing man's need for a belief in the supernatural." --The Kansas City Star

About the Author

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, TheSearch 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.