Happy
BOOK Birthday,
MARKED Madeleine L’Engle!
Each month, we
celebrate a birthday of
literary signifi cance.

‘Tech Lab: Brilliant Builds
for Smart Makers’
by Jack Challoner
Engage budding scientists and engineers,
as they experiment, invent and test tech-
nology, electronics and mechanics at home.

Simple steps with clear photographs take
readers through building each project with
low-cost and readily available materials.

Fact-fi lled panels explain the science behind
each project and also provide a real-world
example of its usage.

YOUNG ADULT
‘Obviously: Stories
from My Timeline’
by Akilah Hughes
The comedian and YouTube sensation
arrives with her debut book, a memoir of
sorts, fi lled with hilarious, punchy anec-
dotes. Hughes describes her childhood and
teenage years in small-town Kentucky, com-
plete with stories of family, friends and how
she coped with food issues and anxiety. Her
arrival in New York City and the transition
to big-city life brought additional pressures,
particularly as a woman of color in the
entertainment industry. Perfect for teens
looking for inspiration from someone who
beat the odds.

‘Mooncakes’ by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu
This beautifully illustrated graphic novel
features two Chinese-American protago-
nists: Nova, a small-town witch, and Tam,
a werewolf. Nova’s hearing impairment
doesn’t stop her adventurous spirit, and
when she goes on a quest to fi nd Tam in the
forest, they encounter a dangerous horse
that has been demon-possessed. Nova and
her hilarious grandmothers rescue Tam and
welcome him into the New England book-
store they own and operate, where romantic
sparks quickly fl y. Sweet and quickly bound-
ing between fantasy and reality, this is a sure
bet for fans of both shojo manga and “The
Prince and the Dressmaker.” ■
“Just because we
don’t understand
doesn’t mean that the
explanation doesn’t
exist.” This is the
wisdom that Charles
Murry tells Meg in
the classic novel,
“A Wrinkle in Time,” the adventurous,
kid-enchanting story written by
Madeleine L’Engle. The story centers
on Meg Murry as she travels through
time and space to find her missing
scientist father.

The book was first published in 1962
and has received the Newbery Medal,
the Sequoyah Book Award and the
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. It is the
first book in the Time Quintet series.

For generations, preteens and young
adults have delighted in the story, and
the book is so popular it became a
successful movie — twice. The first
film came out in 2003 and the second,
most current one in 2018.

L’Engle based the Murray family on
her own science and magic-intrigued
relatives. She grew up in the Upper
East Side of Manhattan and earned
her degree in English from Smith
College, nurturing her own love for
writing stories. “I’ve been a writer ever
since I could hold a pencil,” she told
Humanities magazine in an interview.

L’Engle continued her
passion for writing until
her death in September
2007. She wrote more
than 60 books and her
final work was “The
Joys of Love,” published
in 2008.

WashingtonFAMILY.com 39