Thursday, April 28, 2011

A Wrinkle in Time


Last night for book group we read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. First off, don't you just love the name, A Wrinkle in Time?  I do.  The visual imagery of time wrinkling is perfect.  Second, if you buy this book, I highly recommend trying to find one with the cover illustration by Peter Sis.   Peter Sis is great in his own right and his cover is very fun.  Some of the other covers I saw last night were not so great.  I know they say not to judge a book by its cover - and this book is great no matter the cover - but artwork by Peter Sis is an added bonus to a great book.

A Wrinkle in Time is a science fiction story about a young girl named Meg, her 5-year-old little brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin's journey through time.  Meg's parents are both brilliant scientists  and her father has been off working on a project for a few years and has not been in contact with their family for some time.  School is hard for Meg.  Everyone teases her that her dad has run off with a mistress; her performance is poor in school; and she is awkward looking with glasses and braces.  Needless to say she is an easy teasing target.  

Everything changes when Charles Wallace meets Mrs. Who, Whatsit and Which when walking in the woods with their dog.  Charles Wallace, Meg and Calvin set off on an adventure through time and space to find her father and to fight off the ominous IT.

This is a classic children's literature novel - published in 1962 - and winner of the Newbery Medal.  The book group I attended is all adult women, and they all loved this book.  It is the kind of timeless book that appeals to both children as young as 10 or 11 and adults.  Ironically, several of the women from book  group remembered not liking the book as a child, but they all loved it this time around.

I love this book.  Read or re-read it soon.

3 comments:

Rachel said...

I still remember liking it when I was a child :) I was thinking about it though.... why was it Mrs. Who and Which and then Mrs. Whatsit? Why not Mrs. What? Or Mrs. Whosit? I was wondering....

Jordan and Emily said...

Love this book! I just got almost all the books that you have posted about that are new to me. My boys laughed their way through the baby book and we are now making our way through the Jenny Linsky cat book. So far they love it! All three of my boys love cats (weird because I don't...) Thanks for all the great book ideas. Keep them coming! (oh we all loved LOOK! A BOOK!)

Addie Parker said...

I am so glad you wrote about his book Camille! I read it in elementary school but haven't read it since. Do you think it is too mature/scary for a six-year old (Addie)? Or can I let her dive in?