Madeleine L'Engle: Banned, Challenged, and Censored

VOYA - David Goodale

These biographies on Cormier and L'Engle exemplify the quality of a series that also includes J. K. Rowling, Mark Twain, and John Steinbeck. The books are similar in format and identical in length. In each biography, the authors do an excellent job of looking at both sides of the censorship debate while examining the life and works of the two authors. Cormier's biographer devotes three chapters, one for each book, to analyzing The Chocolate War, I Am the Cheese and After the First Death, whereas McClellan focuses on L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Many Waters. The comprehensive notes and additional information at the end of each book will lead researchers to more information and fans to a complete list of published works. This series of informative biographies will be useful for teens who are reading the author in school or researching banned books or censorship. They will also be useful for biography assignments. The focus on the censorship issue, however, interferes with reading these biographies for entertainment. A teen wishing to learn more about Robert Cormier will be disappointed to find that chapters two and three of his biography rarely mention him. Instead these chapters focus on the history of book banning and the organizations involved. Also each biography gives away details of some of the author's challenged books; Beckman even warns that "plot spoilers lie ahead." Nevertheless these biographies will enhance collections through the biographers' exhaustive research and their well-drawn portraits of each author's life. Reviewer: David Goodale

Children's Literature - Lacey Grummons

Madeline L'Engle, a famous children's author of the twentieth century, was criticized and rejected because of the content within her books. L'Engle's story lines often included magic, time travel, and non-western philosophies. This easy-to-read biography is a part of the "Blah Blah" series that addresses banned authors. Text boxes show the history of censorship, the top ten lists of most challenged books, thought provoking discussion questions, and inspiring quotes from L'Engle. As a young child L'Engle developed a natural talent to write despite being teased and mistreated by her teachers. As a young teen L'Engle was sent off to boarding school without any warning by her parents. Her father, a writer, died when L'Engle was just seventeen. The hardships she faced as she grew up motivated her to write and inspired her to share her story through her characters in her novels. Although raised as an Episcopalian who read the Bible, L'Engle's main critics are Christian fundamentalists. A Wrinkle in Time, written in 1962, has had over thirty attempts since 1990 to be removed from libraries. This book also has placed L'Engle consistently on a list of most challenged authors. She was a wife, mother, and grandmother who inspired many to read and to ask important questions about life. Reviewer: Lacey Grummons