I read A Wrinkle in Time last year when I was in the sixth grade, and I just loved it!

The plot of the book is that Meg Murry and her brother- Charles Wallace must save their father from the It by going through the tesseract into different worlds. Meg's and Charles Wallace's father mysteriously dissapeared after experimenting with the fifth dimension of time travel.He's been gone since Meg was a little girl, in fact, Meg doesn't even remember him that much. Now it's their turn to rescue him. Meg and Charles receive help from 3 ladies- Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.

I recommend this book to 5-8 graders.

Also recommended: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and Harry Potter series.

This is a children's book, but it isn't just an adventure story.

It has science-fiction; The Drs. Murray, parents of Meg, Charles Wallace and the twins) are scientists who are researching Time and Space. Dr. Murray takes a time trip and so do the kids.

There is also magic; a trio of "witches" shows up--Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, and they take Meg, her brother Charles-Wallace, and their new friend Calvin on an epic adventure.

It's also the story of a family with a deep trouble who nonetheless stay together, the story of a young girl who is just coming into adolescence with all the awkwardness and confusing feelings, and the story of a special little boy who is thought to be retarded by townspeople.

The symbology L'Engel uses is powerful and original; a giant brain who seduces those around it into surrendering their free will as an ultimate dictator; a shadow-like smog around planets that represents the presence of Evil, and a special young boy who is more than a genius; who is "something new" who nonetheless can be tempted to his own destruction by vanity.

Wrinkle in Time has a lot of fertile subjects for discussions between parents and children about good, evil, how we treat each other, and the choices we make. Ms. L'Engel often uses moral themes in her books and this one contains excellent subjects for discussions about kindness, good, evil, God, and being different, and about the destructiveness of gossip.

Wrinke in Time is like the Potter books in that it is about boys and girls in a magical or fantasy setting. It is unlike the Potter books because it does not focus on wizardry as a craft. Instead it presents the universe as full of wonder, and united by a titanic struggle of Good against Evil. Like the Potter books, there are sequels to Wrinkle in Time, and the story of the Murray kids continues. This was hands-down my favorite book as a child. I still have my copy almost 40 years later.

I remember reading this book as a kid ~~ and re-reading this book as an expectant mother really helps bring the magic of time-traveling alive. I remember enjoying it as a kid ~~ but I think I enjoyed it much more as an adult ~~ the meanings that L'Engle has written to convey a message to people of all ages are timeless ~~ there is nothing like Love that defeats the power of darkness.

My husband keeps saying that it was such a quick read because it was written for fifth graders ~~ I just tell him hush. Maybe so, but the points L'Engle tries to make are abundantly clear ~~ there is a battle between good and evil; there may be other lifeforms outside of our galaxy; there is nothing like love ~~ between brother, sister, mother, daughter, father, son ... or even Aunt Beast, Meg.

Meg and Charles, her baby brother, and Calvin are sent on a mission to rescue Meg and Charles' father from a dark planet. This book is about their adventures with Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which and Mrs. Where. It's a noble book ~~ one that I will definitely read to my children.

I can babble all night on this book ~~ just pick it up for yourself and see why it won the Newbury Award.

1-17-02