>Madeleine L'Engle

by Roger Sutton
Sep 08, 2007 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
>We commemorate Madeleine L'Engle with a profile written by her husband for the Horn Book on the occasion of her 1963 Newbery Medal. And we've got some reviews of her work up as well. I like what Ruth Hill Viguers wrote about The Arm of the Starfish; it can be said of L'Engle's work as a whole:

The plot moves with such speed and variety, and emotions are so tautly stretched, that if there are weaknesses, the reader is much too occupied to be aware of them. At the end he might wish that the restraint and subtlety had held to the last page. But the critic who turns back thinking to pinpoint a flaw is caught again not only by the vigor of the plot and the power of the overtones, but by the small imaginative details: apt naming of the characters, realistic conversations, brief moments of awareness of commonplace joys.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

Be the first reader to comment.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

READ ROGER

Fanfare 2021 Booklist
by Roger Sutton
READ ROGER

January/February 2022 Horn Book Magazine starred reviews
by Roger Sutton
READ ROGER

Happy Birthday to Me (and Maybe You?): A Note from Me (Oct 26, 2021)
by Roger Sutton
READ ROGER

Jerry Pinkney (1939-2021)
by Roger Sutton
READ ROGER

A Note from Me (Oct 8, 2021)
by Roger Sutton
READ ROGER

November/December 2021 Horn Book Magazine starred reviews
by Roger Sutton
More
RECOMMENDED
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?