A Wrinkle in Time

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade science fiction/fantasy
• Originally Published: 1962
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 740L; grades 6-8
• Structure/Length: 12 chapters; approx. 256 pages; 6 hours and 27 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: With the help of three odd supernatural beings, young Meg Murry undertakes a journey of time and space to try to find her missing father.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: References to the Christian Bible

Madeleine L’Engle, Author

• Bio: 1918-2007; American writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry; loved writing and reading as a child; attended a private school in Switzerland, where imagining stories helped to alleviate loneliness; attended Smith College; worked as a writer in New York City theater before becoming a novelist; authored four sequels to A Wrinkle in Time (The Time Quintet)
• Other Works: The Arm of the Starfish (1965); A Wind in the Door (1973); A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978)
• Awards: Newbery Medal (1963); Sequoyah Book Award (1965); Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1965)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• “Like” and “Equal” Are Not the Same Thing
• It’s Not What Things Look Like; It’s What They Are Like
• Only You Can Rescue Yourself

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the concept of time, time travel, and tesseracts as significant drivers of the plot in A Wrinkle in Time.