All five titles have been published in numerous editions over the years, with occasional changes in cover art and, in 1997, a new introduction by L'Engle for the Dell Laurel-Leaf paperbacks.

Both editions include new cover art, "An Appreciation by Anna Quindlen", a "Questions for the Author" interview, and the text of Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Medal acceptance speech, published under the title "The Expanding Universe".

Meg, Calvin and the disagreeable school principal Mr. Jenkins have to travel inside one of Charles Wallace's mitochondria to save him from a deadly disease, part of a cosmic battle against the evil Echthroi and the forces of "Unnaming".

Charles Wallace must save the world from nuclear war by going back in time and changing might-have-beens, accompanied in spirit (through kything) by Meg at home.

Twins Dennys and Sandy accidentally play around with their father's computer, sending them into Mr. Murry's experiment and back in time to the pre-flood days of Noah.

Since the series was written over the course of decades, it is not possible to establish an exact year in which each story takes place; historical events mentioned in the books (such as the dates of the Apollo space program and the name of the President of the United States) do not always correspond to the "real world".

The eponymous "wrinkle in time" is a short hop to the immediate past engineered by the Mrs. Ws to allow Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace to accomplish their mission and return before they are missed at home.

Another theme which echoes Lewis's work is that phenomena which human perception classifies as "science", "religion" and "magic" are in actuality part of a single seamless reality.

These are, in order of both publication and character chronology: These also take place in a Kairos framework, although only The Arm of the Starfish and An Acceptable Time have the characteristic science fantasy elements to any great extent.