A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet Series #1)

by Madeleine L'Engle

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The classic that needs no introduction, this is a book that has captivated generations. A refreshingly engaging story of time-travel, of the most unlikely and yet strangely realistic distant galaxies, and of the unflinching foundation that holds family together.

NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER • TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM DISNEY

Read the ground-breaking science fiction and fantasy classic that has delighted children for over 60 years!

"A Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read it so often, I know it by heart." —Meg Cabot

Late one night, three otherworldly creatures appear and sweep Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe away on a mission to save Mr. Murray, who has gone missing while doing top-secret work for the government. They travel via tesseract—a wrinkle that transports one across space and time—to the planet Camazotz, where Mr. Murray is being held captive. There they discover a dark force that threatens not only Mr. Murray but the safety of the whole universe.

A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet.

Includes an appreciation by Anna Quindlen and a personal interview with Madeleine L’Engle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312367541
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/01/2007
Series:	Time Quintet Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	4,742
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) was born in New York City and attended Smith College. She wrote more than 60 books, the most famous of which is A Wrinkle In Time (1962), winner of the Newbery Award in 1963. L'Engle continued the story of the Murry family from A Wrinkle In Time with seven other novels (five of which are available as A Wrinkle In Time Quintent from Square Fish). She also wrote the famous series featuring the Austin family, beginning with the novel Meet The Austins (1960). L'Engle revisited the Austins four more times over the next three decades, concluding with Troubling a Star in 1994. The story of the Austins had some autobiographical elements, mirroring Madeleine's life and the life of her family. Madeleine L'Engle's last book, The Joys of Love, is a romantic, coming-of-age story she wrote back in the 1940s, and is being published by FSG.

Date of Birth:

January 12, 1918

Date of Death:

September 6, 2007

Place of Birth:

New York, NY

Place of Death:

Litchfield, CT

Education:

Smith College, 1941

Read an Excerpt

"Now, don't be frightened, loves," Mrs. Whatsit said. Her plump little body began to shimmer, to quiver, to shift. The wild colors of her clothes became muted, whitened. The pudding-bag shape stretched, lengthened, merged. And suddenly before the children was a creature more beautiful than any Meg had even imagined, and the beauty lay in far more than the outward description. Outwardly Mrs. Whatsit was surely no longer a Mrs. Whatsit. She was a marble-white body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely unlike a horse, for from the magnificently modeled back sprang a nobly formed torso, arms, and a head resembling a man's, but a man with a perfection of dignity and virtue, an exaltation of joy such as Meg had never before seen. No, she thought, it's not like a Greek centaur. Not in the least.

From the shoulders slowly a pair of wings unfolded, wings made of rainbows, of light upon water, of poetry.

Calvin fell to his knees.

"No," Mrs. Whatsit said, though her voice was not Mrs. Whatsit's voice. "Not to me, Calvin. Never to me. Stand up."

"Ccarrry themm," Mrs. Which commanded.

With a gesture both delicate and strong Mrs. Whatsit knelt in front of the children, stretching her wings wide and holding them steady, but quivering. "Onto my back, now," the new voice said.

The children took hesitant steps toward the beautiful creature.

Editorial Reviews

Yoo's cover art is enchanting.” —Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (blog)

“A coming of age fantasy story that sympathizes with typical teen girl awkwardness and insecurity, highlighting courage, resourcefulness and the importance of famiyl ties as key to overcoming them.” —Carol Platt Liebau, author, in the New York Post

“An exhilarating experience.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This imaginative book will be read for a long time into the future.” —Children's Literature

From the Publisher

Hope Davis is wonderful narrating Madeleine L'Engle’s children’s classic. The 1963 Newbery Award winner is the first in L'Engle’s Time Quintet, featuring Murry siblings Meg and Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin. Through Davis’s appealing performance, listeners share the youngsters’ extraordinary adventures through space and time. Davis creates fully realized, completely credible children whose actions determine their own fate, the fate of their loved ones, and the continued existence of the known universe. As the children do battle with the forces of good and evil, and even as the realities of a coming-of-age story unfold, Davis keeps the tender heart of this well-loved sci-fi tale in the foreground. Her narration provides a thrilling plot, convincing characterizations, and a strong message of faith and familial love. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2012 - AudioFile