NoveList Book Squad: KidLit Connection: A Wrinkle in Time

"It was a dark and stormy night."

Though it opens with one of the oldest literary clichés, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time shook up the kidlit world in 1962, blurring the lines between fantasy and science fiction and establishing a new kind of heroine: a short-tempered, glasses-wearing geek who travels through space/time to rescue her loved ones. And now, in 2018, A Wrinkle in Time is shaking things up again in the form of a star-studded Disney film. With the movie tessering into U.S. theaters on March 9, your library may already be seeing an influx of Wrinkle in Time fans both old and new -- but you'll be ready for them all with the resources below.

Read on,
Rebecca (a lifelong L'Engle fangirl)
Currently reading Justina Ireland's Dread Nation

Print and post to support self-directed fans in search of readalikes

The right readalike

With a story as unique as A Wrinkle in Time, what counts as a readalike can vary based on what any individual kid likes best -- that's why the search strategies below offer a few different approaches. Just copy + paste the search strings into your NoveList search bar, then limit your results to "Ages 9-12".

For movie fans looking for science fiction and fantasy starring characters of color: (GX "Science fiction" OR GX "Fantasy fiction") AND CC "Culturally diverse"
For fans looking for more stories about space/time: GX "Science fiction" AND DE "Space *"
For fans interested in big screen adaptations: GX "Books to movies"
For fans who want to read the whole series: UI 776142

Quintet quibbles

Speaking of the series, I'm going to level with you -- L'Engle's Time Quintet (which begins with A Wrinkle in Time) can be a challenge when it comes to readers' advisory. First, there's the issue of age range: while the first three books fit comfortably in the upper-middle-grade range, the two following books skew towards YA. Then, there's the fact that the series was published from 1962-1989, and some of the content hasn't aged particularly well. Are these facts RA dealbreakers? Not necessarily. But keeping them in mind might help you to guide enthusiastic new Wrinkle in Time fans toward their next read.

"But they never learned what it was that Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which had to do, for there was a gust of wind, and they were gone."

Thanks for reading!

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