Although Madeleine L’Engle is a devout Christian she antagonized evangelical Christians with her children’s novel A Wrinkle in Time. Her detractors challenged the inclusion of her book in public schools primarily because its women characters—Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which—use magical powers to take twelve-year-old Meg and her brother Charles on a space trip through the fifth dimension. Objecting parents and pastors have claimed that characters are really witches practicing black magic under the guise of “New Age” religion, based on Hindu and Buddhist cultures. They have objected to children being indoctrinated with Eastern religions and mystical practices and to L’Engle’s use of crystal balls, psychic healing, astral travel, and telepathy. Citizens for Excellence in Education in Waterloo, Iowa, for example, accused L’Engle of fostering occult practices, employing satanic suggestions, sadism, and—worst of all—by associating Jesus Christ with other great personages, implying that Christ was not divine. Most efforts to ban A Wrinkle in Time failed, however. L’Engle received strong support from her readers for her Newbery Award-winning novel and its themes of the power of love, respect for others, and the need for individuality.