A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com

Middle-grade fantasy novel
High school girl and five-year-old boy as main characters
Rating: A classic book (a Newberry Award Winner even) that can STILL relate to children today and get them excited about reading!

Short, short summary: Meg Murray and her brother, Charles Wallace, are a little different than everybody else. Meg has trouble getting along in school, and she knows the same will happen with Charles Wallace when he has to go. But they soon learn that their differences are actually wonderful parts of their personality and help them on the adventure of their lives. Along with Calvin O’Keefe (a POPULAR high school boy) and three “friends,” who I’ll refer to as the Misses (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you have to read to find out!), the children go through a wrinkle in time to another planet to save their father from IT! This book has a wonderful message because IT is powerful and gives a false sense of comfort and security, but the children and ALL humans have something that IT doesn’t. This “something” saves the day when Meg uses the “something” to save Charles Wallace. Are you confused? You won’t be when you read this wonderful book with your child or your students!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is a wonderful book to start the discussion with students or your child about the special qualities that EVERYONE has. Meg doesn’t fit in at school, and yet, most children love her and want to follow her on more adventures (which by the way, Madeleine L’Engle did continue the Murrays’ story in a series). However, there are probably classmates, who are treated differently because of some of these same characteristics that Meg has, in your room. A great activity to do when you are reading or finished reading this book is to start a positive comment bulletin board. Each student in the room (or you can do this with each of your family members and hang these comments on the refrigerator) picks a name of a classmate out of a hat. The student writes a positive note on a sentence strip about the student he chose. You hang them on a bulletin board or as a border around the room. You can do this activity several times a month, but students should not write about the same person twice. It is also a good idea to give examples of positive comments by using the children in A Wrinkle In Time. Examples: Meg is really good at figuring out math in her head. Charles Wallace knows a lot of words. Meg is super nice to her brother.

2. Let students be the illustrators for this novel. Madeleine L’Engle provides rich descriptions about the Misses and the planets and Aunt Beast. Assign students to illustrate a character or setting or section of the novel with the text attached to the drawing. Post these on the wall outside your classroom (or your refrigerator if you are at home) for all to see.

3. Before you read the ending of the book, let students work on their prediction skills. Can they predict what Meg has that IT doesn’t have? Using the clues in the book, have students write down their predictions in a journal or on a sheet of paper. Then read the section where Meg saves Charles Wallace. Did any of your students guess what Meg used to beat IT?

If you love children’s books and want to use them with your children or students, another great blog to check out is Jen Robinson’s Book Page, where you can sign up for a weekly newsletter with 450 other subscribers!

If you have used this book with your students or your child, please leave a comment here and tell us about it!

If you have a recommendation of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.