Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
17 used & new from CDN$ 3.23
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Meet the Austins: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 1
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Meet the Austins: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 1 (Paperback)

by Madeleine L'Engle (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 7.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

14 new from CDN$ 3.23 3 used from CDN$ 3.25

Frequently Bought Together

Meet the Austins: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 1 + The Moon by Night: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 2 + A Ring of Endless Light: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 4
Price For All Three: CDN$ 23.97

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Meet the Austins: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 1 by Madeleine L'Engle

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • The Moon by Night: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 2 by Madeleine L'Engle

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • A Ring of Endless Light: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 4 by Madeleine L'Engle

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

A Ring of Endless Light: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 4

A Ring of Endless Light: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 4

by Madeleine L'Engle
4.8 out of 5 stars (179)  CDN$ 7.99
The Moon by Night: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 2

The Moon by Night: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 2

by Madeleine L'Engle
4.9 out of 5 stars (17)  CDN$ 7.99
The Young Unicorns: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 3

The Young Unicorns: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 3

by Madeleine L'Engle
4.9 out of 5 stars (23)  CDN$ 7.99
Troubling a Star: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 5

Troubling a Star: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 5

by Madeleine L'Engle
4.3 out of 5 stars (63)  CDN$ 7.99
The Arm of the Starfish

The Arm of the Starfish

by Madeleine L'Engle
4.1 out of 5 stars (29) 
› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Reading award-winning author Madeleine L'Engle's Meet the Austins is like taking a vacation with the warm, compassionate Austins--an extraordinary family who takes a little girl named Maggy Hamilton under its wing when her father is killed in a plane accident. Adjusting to a new household member is not easy, as the 12-year-old narrator, Vicky, will testify. Maggy is spoiled, "ubiquitous," laughs in a "horrid, screechy way," and appears to be a child of an entirely different species from the thoughtful, intelligent, kind, yet not cloyingly so, Austin kids. Still, Vicky and her other siblings (Rob, Suzy, and John) grit their collective teeth and struggle to understand her, which becomes easier and easier as the loving family seems to rub off on the newly orphaned Maggy.

The Austins are beyond question a charming family, but their path is by no means rock-free: Vicky sneaks off to a friend's house and severely injures herself in a bike accident, they all get the measles, John is beat up after his guest sermon in church, and they almost lose little Rob. Despite ordinary family setbacks, there's no use pretending this is a run-of-the-mill family. When Vicky is sick, her older brother, John, comes into her room and soothes her with a discussion of the solar system, our atomic composition, and the relativity of size. Family dinner-table talk includes the ethics of meat eating, and a chat with Grandfather ends up with a discussion of whether Einstein believed in God. As in all of L'Engle's novels, she asks the big questions: What is the meaning of life, and how does death fit into that? Are there different kinds of intelligence? What happens when you remove a screw from a radiator? This strangely comforting novel, first published in 1960, is an ALA Notable Book, and was followed by four other books featuring the Austin Family: The Moon by Night, The Young Unicorns, A Ring of Endless Light (a Newbery Honor Book), and Troubling a Star. (Ages 9 to 12) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Review

“A family story that simply doesn’t date, characters ring as true now as I’m sure they ever did.”—Charlotte Jones Voiklis, Granddaughter of Madeleine L’Engle

“Yes, by all means ‘meet the Austins,’ for a nicer family would be hard to find. The book is beautifully written, with integrity and warmth, and young people are bound to identify with the characters, each a person in his own right, and to read absorbed from first page to last. Thoroughly recommended.”—Chicago Tribune

“An unusual book. . . . There are intimate details of home life that everyone will recognize with pleasure; there is great warmth in the family relationship, and it is movingly communicated.”—The New York Times

“Told with warmth and humor, this is a perceptive, forthright story of a loving and likeable family.”—Booklist

“Her books . . . tend to be about the intersection of some fantastic unearthly world and the ordinary world in which we live.”—Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket)

“. . . [an] ode to faith and family . . .”—Quin Hillyer, American Spectator
See all Product Description

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

The Young Unicorns: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 3
54% buy
The Young Unicorns: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 3 4.9 out of 5 stars (23)
CDN$ 7.99
Meet the Austins: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 1
39% buy the item featured on this page:
Meet the Austins: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 1 4.3 out of 5 stars (17)
CDN$ 7.99
A Wrinkle in Time
7% buy
A Wrinkle in Time
CDN$ 8.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous, Feb 8 2004
By Emily (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Meet the Austins (Mass Market Paperback)
this book is awesome. it remains one of my favorites. despite the fact that it was written in the 60s, it is still completely relevant to teenagers and families today. in fact, it seems to promote the "simpler" life of love and family that we all still want, without being at all saccharine or pushy. i love how the narrator, vicky, describes her family's life and events in such a matter-of-fact way, as if she was just talking to someone about what was going on... you know how sometimes someone can say a few words or describe a scene and you know exactly the feeling they mean? thats what happens thru out this book. it gives a warm and fuzzy feeling and the only problem is that you have to remind yourself the characters arent real. but it has great ethics, fun and 3d characters, and the Austin family is wonderful. also something ir eally liked: the Austins' family clearly includes some of their close friends (for example, the character of Aunt Elena)... its not about a birth thing, and it never gets addressed but its just so natural that their extremely loving and tightknit family should include friends just as easily.

i really, really recommend this book to anyone. its both an easy read and thoughtprovoking, and encouraging, anddddd just awesome!!!! :-)

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars A book for adults as well as for kids!, Nov 11 2003
By Nina M. Osier (Augusta, ME USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Meet the Austins (Mass Market Paperback)
Twelve-year-old Vicky Austin has a secure and happy home with her physician father, homemaker mother, older brother John, and younger siblings Suzy and Rob, in their big house outside a small American town. The Austins practice an unpretentious but fully committed brand of Christianity, and despite normal squabbling and adolescent angst their elder daughter knows she is surrounded by love and treasures it.

Then Maggy Hamilton, ten years old and newly orphaned, lands in their midst and does her best to change everything. For a time this little girl who has never known a real home before does a good job of disrupting the Austins' lives. To Maggy, toys are for breaking (her rich grandfather will replace them on demand, so why not?) and so are rules. Yet like all children, Maggy desperately wants to be loved. Can the Austins love her in spite of her obnoxious behavior? Or will her presence tear their happy family apart?

The answer to that question may be predictable, but the way it happens isn't predictable at all. Vicky as narrator has a sweet but decidedly not saccharine voice, and an outlook on life as a budding woman that when this story was first published (copyright 1960) was positively revolutionary. I particularly love the way L'Engle imbues this and many of her other books with a matter-of-fact yet profound spiritual dimension, by depicting Christians who live their faith as if that were the most natural thing in the world.

I'm surprised I didn't find this book when I was at the age level for which it was written, since in 1960 I was 8 years old. However, all really fine children's literature can also be enjoyed by adult readers; and that's especially true of Madeleine L'Engle's work. I look forward now to reading the rest of the Austin series.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars Not Good at All..., Jun 19 2003
By A Customer
I first started readed L'Engle's books because I saw they were making a movie on the Disney Channel based on "A Ring of Endless Light." I read that book and I fell in love with Vicky and the Austin family. When I learned that there were other books about them I immediately checked them out from the library. The first one I read was this one. I was VERY disappointed. It lacked a central message or point and seemed quite disorganized. I put it down one day, almost done with the thing and never picked it back up except to return it to the library.
"A Ring of Endless Light" was so smooth and perfect. I guess it was because L'Engle had become a much better writer by the time she wrote that one...
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not THAT good
I liked this story very much. It is about a quirky, nice, good family and is well worth rereading.

I have only three big complaints about it. Read more

Published on April 11 2003 by Alice Fielding

5.0 out of 5 stars Not only for children
I am not a big fan of saying this is a "child's book" because I was not a child when I read this book. It is a timeless and ageless book, one for the entire family. Read more
Published on Dec 27 2002 by Kelly

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Family
When an orphan named Maggy Hamilton comes to live with the Austin family, their lives are turned upside down. Read more
Published on Dec 18 2002 by Erika Sorocco

3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable book
The story Meet The Austin's was a story about a normal family accepting a new child, Maggie, into their home after her father died. Read more
Published on Dec 13 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the hardcover to get rare, formerly "banned" chapter
When Meet the Austins was first published in 1960, standards and sensibilities in childrens/young adult publishing were very different from what they are now. Read more
Published on Feb 13 2002 by Karen F. Blocher

5.0 out of 5 stars warm and funny
A warm and loving portrait of family life, Meet the Austins is the first (not counting The 24 Days before Christmas) of L'Engle's Austin family series. Read more
Published on Feb 3 2002 by natashafatale

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic!
This is one of my favorite books. I love all of Madeline L'Engle's works and this is one of her best. It is told through the eyes of Vicky who is a thirteen year old. Read more
Published on Jun 3 2000 by saj888

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book!!!
I liked this book, but at some points, I was like, come on, be real. It was realistic, but families today, aren't so perfect. Read more
Published on Jul 7 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars A horrible book.
Very bad print and this book is a very boring, not well written book
Published on Jun 29 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved MEET THE AUSTINS
This is the best book by Madeleine L'Engle I ever read! I got it when I was eleven, I'm now thirteen, and sinse then I've probably read it ten or so times over. Read more
Published on Mar 5 1999

Only search this product's reviews


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject














i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.