LNC Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 My 9yo daughter picked this up at a library sale and loves it! She hasn't gone on and on about a book in a long time. I'm not into fantasy and haven't read these. She asked for the quintet for her birthday. Any fans? I vaguely remember reading about the author Madeline L'Engle in Victoria years ago. She's highly thought of as a writer isn't she? I can't be this Anne of Green Gables, Little House and Betsy-Tacy loving mom has a daughter who continues to love fantasy. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 But the characters are so well developed, and the plot is interesting (and Wrinkle in Time is very much rooted in family relationships), it's not just scientific mumbo jumbo, so you should read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I loved this one but just couldn't plow through the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I loved them all, but the rest of them are a little bit 'older.' Not that there's anything objectionable, just pretty complex. She'll probably like them anyway. (If she's a fantasy fan, give her the best: Diana Wynne Jones! Give her "Charmed Life" or "The Lives of Christopher Chant." There are 5 books in the Chrestomanci Chronicles.) And don't worry; it's perfectly possible to love Anne Shirley and Meg Murry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I love LM Montgomery but my favorite author is Madeleine L'Engle. The Wrinkle in Time series is a safe entry into sci fi/fantasy. Some of her other books are not as safe so be sure to pre-read beforehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy B Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Oh, L'Engle is my absolute favorite author of all time. Her books go beyond fantasy; they are truly classics. I would give a 9 year old the *first* book of the Meet the Austins series; I would suggest you pre-read the others. I'm sure I read them that young; I'm not sure my daughter would be ready for them. As someone else said -- nothing objectionable, just more mature. There is a lovely children's book -- The Anti-Muffins. It is based on characters from the Austin family series, but geared for younger children. Oh, and your daughter would probably LOVE the Emily series by L. M. Montgomery. I was more Meg Murray than Anne -- but I loved Emily. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey in MA Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 ...I think we got throught the first 3: Wrinkle in Time, Wind in the Door, Swiftly Tilting Planet. I think the 3rd on was too hard for them though...the vocabulary stepped up a bit, sentence structure, and even content just became more mature and harder to follow for little ones. GREAT stories though! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 The Wrinkle in Time series are fun, but a little heady. If you like sci-fi you'll like them, but she also has a lot of philosophical issues in them, too. I loved the Austin family series. Wonderful books. As the others have mentioned, her books for older readers are a little.... well, you'll definitely need to pre-read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 They're wonderful books. Do keep in mind -- if she loves L'Engle and wants to read more of her books after this series -- that some of her books were written for an adult audience and aren't really appropriate for young readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Diva adored A Wrinkle In Time...and, sneaky Momma I am, I went out and found a teacher's companion guide to go with it, so it turned into a novel study for her ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaof2andtwins Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I liked the first one, but got a little lost in the second one. Then I stopped reading. When I was teaching full time I did have some students that took to them and read the whole series. Jennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I loved them, but my kids have never read them. I don't even know why! My Madeleine L'Engle story - When I was in college, I waitressed at a restaurant in Northampton, Mass. I was serving a nice table - two older women. I took the credit card I was given as payment, went to run it in the back - and nearly HYPERVENTILATED when I saw Ms. L'Engle's name on it! When I went back to their table, I made a complete fool of myself, I'm pretty sure. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I read A Wrinkle in Time when I was young and loved it. We listened to the audiobook narrated by the author on a recent family holiday. The kids enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 We LOVE L'Engle here and have several of her books. HeatherH- what a GREAT story! All three of my older kids have read the trilogy and other books by L'Engle and count her among the greats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I loved them all, but the rest of them are a little bit 'older.' Not that there's anything objectionable, just pretty complex. She'll probably like them anyway. The first three are terrific. I loved the first one as a 6th grader, then read the next three as they came out. The 4th one was okay, but not nearly as good as the first three. I haven't gotten around to reading the 5th one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 My fav is Many Waters but its probably most appropriate for 12+. I think L'Engle is a true artist. A few yrs ago I re read all her stuff, both children's and adult works. She really knew so much- classical music, lit, and christianity as well! WHEW! My favorite adult work was A Two Part Invention whichw as the story of her marriage to a well known soap star! She has a lotof good contrast of dark to light in her work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I loved these books as a child and reread them a million times. My kids loved them, too. A few years ago I was able to find (at the library) L'Engle's book, Marriage, A Two Part Invention. I think that was the name of it. It was the story of her life, her marriage, death, etc. The library had the book on tape and the narrator was HER! It was just wonderful. She talks of her husbands death and becomes so emotional, so amazingly real... I was sobbing there on the treadmill at the gym. It was a sight, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I love those books!! I got to hear her speak when I was in college and I really enjoyed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 My fav is Many Waters but its probably most appropriate for 12+. Is this the one about Noah and his sons (Noah's Ark)? I liked that one the best. Interesting theory! (All the people were short--midgets) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 My eldest read Wrinkle under duress a year or so ago, and dspite himself LOVED it. :lol: I wasn't able to restrain myself from a gentle "I told you so." LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenS Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I love the 'Wrinkle' series. I learned to love the Vicki books, though there are some hard topics. Vicki actually turned out to be my favorite character now I'm an adult ... she's a 'real' kid who faces some real issues, and they aren't quite so fantasy. But I still love the Time books. I would avoid the Polly books until she's older, as there's mature subject matter in those. And also very much in her adult novels. Her journals are great. She was an amazing writer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Thanks for sharing! What do you mean by "mature"? Romance or just heavy themes? I'll go ahead and get her the quintet for her birthday next month, she may wait on the rest of the series. She loves to own her very favorite books. I may go ahead and buy her Edith Nesbitt books also. I missed those too when I was a girl, but we really liked The Railway Children. So many good books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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