I first read A Wrinkle In Time back in, oh, middle school? Maybe even before that. There's just always been a copy of it floating around in my life. I can't remember there not being one in the house. (Seriously. I finally realized I wouldn't reread the entire series, only the first one, so I packed them all up - I do hate to seperate full series! - and gave them to a friend. Lo and behold, the next day, the 50th Anniversary edition came in the mail.)
So I've seen a whole bunch of covers for A Wrinkle in Time. I've seen different designs on the inside of the book, and I've seen different quotes emphasized on the backs, depending on who put it out and when and what the trend was at the time and yadayada.
So when the tour asked me to be a part of "Expressions" week, I knew I wanted to do something with the covers. (And I tried a cover redesign at first, but let's face it, the 50th one is so good, and I can only do so much without Photoshop!) And then I thought about recasting the (terrible) movie (that I have a soft spot for), and that didn't work because nobody I could think of was young enough.
And I thought and I thought and I thought about how quotable the book is and how excellently I love the covers and how every time I see Madeleine l'Engle's face I smile.
And then, bam! This.
But what I love most about the covers is that each of them is so different. So appealing to a different group of people. Sucking individuals who wouldn't normally pick up a sci-fi/fantasy story and dragging them in and daring them to love it. (And we do, because who couldn't?)
Maybe I'm just rambling out of sheer love of the book. (Maybe my lack of Photoshop has finally driven me crazy. Maybe my abuse of the parenthesis in this post has driven me nuts.)
Either way, you should read it if you haven't. You'll find a spot in the book that suits you, a quote, a memorable moment. Or maybe you'll just fall in love with the cover.
Oh, and for those of you who are actually curious about the 50 Year Anniversary edition of the book... here.
The 50th Anniversary Commemorative edition features:
• Frontispiece photo*†
• Photo scrapbook with approximately 10 photos*†
• Manuscript pages*†
• Letter from 1963 Caldecott winner, Ezra Jack Keats*†
• New introduction by Katherine Paterson, US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature †
• New afterword by Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter Charlotte Voiklis including six never-before-seen photos †
• Murry-O’Keefe family tree with new artwork †
• Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery acceptance speech
* Unique to this edition † never previously published