Review by Booklist Review
Countless readers have enjoyed Madeleine L'Engle's stories, but her actual life is a worthy tale of its own. The book opens on a stunning starry spread, based on an actual recollection of L'Engle's childhood, when she was taken outside to see a particularly spectacular night sky. The stars provoked wonder and enormous questions within L'Engle, and she spent her life seeing the world through this lens, believing that art in any form was a way to share stories and ask the biggest questions. The celestial motif follows her throughout the pages as she moves from childhood into adulthood, and she even senses the spark for A Wrinkle in Time while camping in the Painted Desert under a canopy of sparkling stars. It's an incredibly thoughtful exploration of both an individual and life in general, and the gorgeous gouache and digital illustrations practically gleam on the page. The brief text is expanded by extensive and inspiring back matter, serving as an ideal introduction for young readers. A resplendent reminder that the big, beautiful questions are always worth asking.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The subject's granddaughter, Voiklis, and author Adams open this idealistic picture book biography of Madeleine L'Engle (1918--2007) with the subject's earliest memory: being awakened and shown the magnificent night sky, and realizing "that there was more to her world than daytime and ordinary things." As an only child growing up in New York City, L'Engle watched her writer father and pianist mother practice ways "to tell a story, to ask questions, to answer the call of the stars." Nearly translucent-feeling digital and gouache spreads by Lirius incorporate the fantasies that animated a young L'Engle--castles, dragons, and always the stars--alongside her probing questions ("What are my gifts?"). After marriage, a family camping trip to the Painted Desert inspires A Wrinkle in Time, a Newbery Award--winning triumph initially rejected by many publishers. Fans of L'Engle's works will find inspiration to ask big questions of their own in this limited telling of the subject's interests and inquiries. Detailed back matter concludes. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--5--This narrative nonfiction title presents the life of Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, and how she became a writer. It describes her parents, schooling, and the jobs she took, how she married, and had a family. Throughout these years, she wrote. She wrote when she had questions, she wrote when she had strong feelings, and all of it helped her to tell the stories that other people wanted to hear, too. The artwork in this book is stunning; both realistic and magical, these illustrations connect readers emotionally to L'Engle's story. Those who have read and enjoyed L'Engle's work will love learning about her; those who haven't will be inspired to find the books. VERDICT An excellent choice for any collection looking for biographies on writers, fantasy, and successful women.--Debbie Tanner
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Review by Horn Book Review
This picture book, a partial biography co-written by L'Engle's granddaughter, Voiklis, begins when baby Madeleine's parents introduce her to the stars in the night sky, a formative memory. It then takes readers through her childhood and early career, and up to the storied publication of her 1963 Newbery Awardwinning classic, A Wrinkle in Time. Flowing throughout the text is the connection between humanity and the stars, both metaphorical and scientific, from which L'Engle drew comfort and inspiration. Full of stars and starlight, the digital illustrations, with some elements painted traditionally with gouache, blend reality and the fantastical in glorious contrasting colors and swirling lines. Text incorporated into the art poses questions that the author herself might have asked, offering opportunities for readers to consider their own answers: "What is my place in the universe?" "Should I keep doing this?" The questions change as she matures but are always rooted in the themes of finding purpose and fulfillment. The book celebrates L'Engle for her writing career but also for her inquisitive approach to the world around her, highlighting her love of music, art, theater, and stories. For those whose interest is piqued, expansive back matter provides more insight into L'Engle's life and work as well as the creators' connections to her. Julie Roach November/December 2022 p.113(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Life experiences that shaped the author of A Wrinkle in Time (1962). Beginning with an early memory of being taken out to view a glorious night sky, this measured, reverent profile follows Madeleine L'Engle, who even as a child had a yen for "big questions." Through school into adulthood, marriage, and work, she found--in art, in theater, and, most of all, in writing--ways to ask questions and seek answers. L'Engle's best known book, begun on a camping stopover in Arizona's Painted Desert, was famously rejected by many publishers but quickly became the classic it still is, prompting generations of readers to find their own ways to ask big questions. Using supple swirls and curves to give her illustrations a lyrical flow, Lirius offers delicately detailed scenes of the White author at different ages, projecting queries in slender thought balloons and alternating between moments of dreamy solitude and in company that is racially diverse. Because of the brevity of the main narrative--though it is supplemented by substantial essays at the end (on L'Engle's lasting influence, how this particular picture book came to be, and the negative effects of light pollution)--this one isn't a one-stop for report writers or newcomers; rather, it's best thought of as a keepsake or a lead-in to the middle-grade biography Becoming Madeleine (2018), which Jones Voiklis, who is L'Engle's granddaughter, co-authored with her sister Léna Roy. (This book was reviewed digitally.) The perfect prelude to a shared reading of the ageless classic. (further reading, timeline) (Picture-book biography. 7-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
