The Anti-Muffins

The Anti-Muffins was originally written as a chapter of Madeleine L'Engle's 1960 novel Meet the Austins. At the time, however, the themes of diversity and tolerance were considered controversial, and the publisher made her leave this chapter out of the published book. Many years later the missing chapter was published separately as The Anti-Muffins. This little book is long out of print, and sometimes sells for about $60 used.The good news is that the 1999 hardcover edition of Meet the Austins includes this chapter in the novel for the first time. Unless you're a serious L'Engle collector, you can skip this rare book and buy the Meet the Austins hardcover instead. It's one of her best books, and well worth getting in hardcover.

At first, I thought this book was strange like many of Madeline's books. It was not until I learned a few things about Madeline, that I begin to understand some of the characters from the book and what the anti-muffins really means. Using this book to teach others to stand up for what is right would be ideal. I think all young and old adolescents should go out and read this book. It's great!

A wonderful picture book introduction to Madeleine L'Engle's Austin family. The story of staying true to yourself and supporting family and friends is simply told through the eyes of young Vicky. This beautiful story makes you want to form your own "Anti-Muffins" club.