Madeleine L'Engle, best known for her 1963 Newbery Award-winning novel, A Wrinkle in Time, passed away last night at her home in Connecticut.

L'Engle authored more than sixty books for kids of all ages. Other works included A Ring of Endless Light, a Newbery Honor Book, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, winner of the American Book Award. L'Engle was named the 1998 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards award, honoring her lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Her books were often the targets of censorship and banning campaigns by conservative Christian groups for promoting witchcraft and wizardry long before J.K Rowling could speak, much less write. Wrinkle was attacked for listing Jesus "with the names of great artists, philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders." Oddly enough, she was also criticized by secular readers for being too Christian in her writing.

Subtly sophisticated in both plot and language, Wrinkle and its sequels didn't talk down to their young readers; instead, they challenged them with complicated situations and concepts. A Wrinkle In Time chronicled the adventures of siblings Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, who rescue their father from captivity on the planet of Camazotz with the help of their friend, Calvin O'Keefe. In the process of saving dad (and the universe), they come across an incredible cast of colorful characters, notable among whom were three mysterious old ladies—Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which—who serve as the children's de-facto inter-dimensional travel guides. Though publishers were initially hesitant to publish this book in the early 1960s, it went on to sell millions of copies and garnered countless awards. It is unquestionably a must-read book.

L'Engle expected a reader who was anything but dumb, and her success ultimately paved the way for the likes of J.K. Rowling, Eoin Coilfer, and a flood of other children's fantasy authors. She will be missed.