Module 4: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

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BOOK SUMMARY: 

Madeleine L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle in Time is a science fiction novel whose main character, Meg Murry constantly questions her place in the world.  Meg, who is one of four children from the brilliant Murry family, feels like the black sheep.  Her mother is beautiful and brilliant, her twin brothers are popular and only her younger brother Charles Wallace, a five year old, is one of few who understands Meg.  The most difficult problem in Meg's life is the absence of her father; he is a scientist who was working for the government and has not been heard from in several years.  Perhaps if rumors circulating around town that the father has left out of his own free will, would cease, then Meg would find it an easier topic to discuss.  It is the very absence of Dr. Murry that takes Meg, Charles Wallace and a new friend Calvin on an adventure with 3 creatures: Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which.  Disguised as elderly women while on earth, the 3 utilize the tesseract, a science term that describes the ability to move throughout the universe in shorter distances.  As explained by Mrs. Whatsit to Meg, the creatures use this fifth dimension.  Once in the universe, the Mrs. W's change into their true form and take the children to Uriel to explain the circumstances and what must be done, which is to save her father from IT, a darkness that has taken over the planet of Camzotz.  The Mrs. W's leave the children on this planet to fight the evil that has imprisoned Dr. Murry.  With only a pair of glasses and a few words of wisdom, the children must figure out a way to save their father and in turn, the universe.  It is in the center of the city, where they discover IT, an evil brain along with Dr. Murry.  Before they can escape, IT has taken over Charles Wallace's mind, forcing Dr. Murry to abandon his youngest child.  Despite his best efforts, Dr. Murry is inexperienced with tessering and Meg suffers physically and emotionally.  She resents her fathers inability to fix everything and after some time and discussions with the Mrs. W's, she realizes it is up to her to rescue Charles Wallace.  It is through love that Meg is able to remove Charles from the grips of IT, because as it inferred, love conquers all.  The novel ends with the missing Murry's back on earth, along with Calvin, who all greet the twins and Mrs. Murry.          

APA REFERENCE OF BOOK: 

L'Engle, M. (1962).  A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

IMPRESSIONS: 

This is the best children's book I have ever read.  It is truly wonderful to have a science fiction novel where the awkward girl is the heroine.  Meg encompasses the difficult years that most adolescent girls experience, even if for a moment.  The Murry's are a wonderful role-model family that love learning and love each other, which makes this novel highly suitable for all.  Additionally refreshing is the idea that love is the driving force against all evil; that we are better as a human race if we all remain unique.  IT represents the darkness that often times takes over our lives and quite possibly, forces us to be like one another rather than embrace our individuality, which can have a greater impact on the world.  This novel covers many topics from science fiction to love to evil and even identity issues.  It is an uplifting story of facing our fears and conquering the worst task that could possibly be set in front of anyone; evil, which can come in many forms.  This is a novel that should be read by all children.         

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW: 

"One need only look at lists of Newbery Medal winners in the decades prior to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time to recognize the novelty of the 1963 committee's choice.  Even today, the relative scarcity of youth science fiction is reflected in more recent crops of medalists; how much more surprising, then, that the historical and realistic stories dominating the pre-1963 Newbery Medalists came to be joined by a book involving tesseracts, theoretical physics, and, perhaps most startling of all, a heroine at a time when male characters like Tom Swift were most strongly associated with children's sf...Not surprising, given the book's central message about preserving intellectual and creative freedom over 'totalitarian, absolutist, and fundamentalist thinking on a level' (Voiklis' words.)  Indeed, in an era of No Child Left Behind controversy, L'Engle's comments in her Newbery acceptance speech have the same timeless resonance as her fiction: 'There are forces working in the world as never before in the history of mankind for standardization, for the regimentation of us all, or what I like to call making muffins of us, muffins all like very other muffin in the muffin tin.'" - Jennifer Mattson   

Reference:

Mattson, J., (2007). Another look at: A wrinkle in time [Review of the book A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle]. Booklist, 103(18), 58-59.  

    

LIBRARY USES: 

L'Engle's book is lends itself to the making of a book trailer because of the many science fiction and physics concepts that could be displayed on a video.  The descriptions from the text are visually stimulating such as when describing the transformations of the Mrs. W's. The trailer could be played as part of morning announcements or in the background in the library or linked from the library homepage.