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Published: April 3, 2024, 8:05 a.m.

We continue our series of episodes about books that have been banned or challenged around the country. This time, it\u2019s the Newbery Award winning novel by Madeleine L\u2019Engle: A Wrinkle in Time.

According to the Carnegie Mellon Banned Books Project, the book was challenged in 1985 by parents in Florida who said the book \u201copposes Christian beliefs and teaches occult practices. The school principal did not remove the book from 4th grade curriculum.

In 1990, a parent in Alabama asked to have the book removed because it \u201csends a mixed signal to children about good and evil.\u201d The school board and superintendent voted unanimously to deny the request.

Six years later, the book was challenged in North Carolina for undermining religious beliefs.The school board denied the request.

Madeline L\u2019Engle herself told the New York Times in 2001 that \u201cit seems people are willing to damn the book without reading it.\u201d

We read it with a group of young readers and this is what they have to say about A Wrinkle in Time.

This week, we tackle a classic \u2013 the 1963 winner of the Newbery Award \u201cA Wrinkle in Time\u201d by Madeleine L\u2019Engle. Our readers are 5th graders from the British International School in Washington, DC. Our celebrity reader is public radio journalist Stephanie O\u2019Neill. Madeline L\u2019Engle passed away in 2007, but we're joined by her granddaughters Charlotte Jones Volklis and Lena Roy.\xa0 They've written a biography of their grandmother based on her journals called \u201cBecoming Madeleine.\u201d Kitty Felde is host.\xa0

FAVORITE BOOKS FROM BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL:

Panda-monium - Stuart Gibbs

Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling

The Tiger Rising - Kate DiCamillo

Space Case - Stuart Gibbs

FAVORITE BOOKS FROM CHARLOTTE JONES VOIKLIS AND LENA ROY

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L\u2019Engle

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

STEPHANIE O\u2019NEILL\u2019S FAVORITE BOOK:

Charlotte\u2019s Web - E.B. White