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I fell in love with Madeleine L’engle YEARS ago, I read A Wrinkle in Time and was just hooked. I promptly read all the books of hers that I could. Just excellent books and I’ve been happily sharing my old copies with my lad. Becoming Madeleine was written by her granddaughters, and is a tribute to the woman that she was and the hard work she put in.
This biography of Madeleine L’engle uses never before seen archival materials. We are introduced to her early poetry, journal entries and pictures of her life. We get a glimpse of a woman (and the girl) that otherwise we might not have known. I was fascinated and read the book through in one sitting (much to the chagrin of my hubby). 🙂 Numerous images filled the pages, giving us a good glimpse into her life.
14 chapters round out this book, taking us from Madeleine’s birth through to publishing her first book “Mrs. Whatsit”. She lived an interesting life, all centred around her love of the written word. Managing boarding school, college, parents who weren’t around much and the normal tribulations of an young writer. 
I found it very interesting to see the progression in her poetry and early work, and reading through her journal entries. An introspective lass. Just intrigued me to no end. 🙂
My Thoughts:
If you have a love of Madeleine L’Engle and/or want to be inspired to stick to your dreams and hopes. Read this book. It’s a great look into her life, and her determination to stick it out. Written so that ages 9-12 can read it easily, no themes to alarm, just a brave-hearted girl working her way through life doing what she loved to do.
This would be a great book to give to a young author, to show them persistence matters, to show them some of the thinking that goes through your mind as you receive rejection letters, or try to figure out what courses to take to improve your skills and so forth.
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Becoming Madeleine
A biography of the author of A Wrinkle in Time
by her granddaughters
Charlotte Jone Voiklis & Lena Roy
Farrar Straus Giroux
softcover, biography, 176 pages, Middle school
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.
Where to find: Amazon Link.
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