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Lois Lowry

Author of The Giver

106+ Works 99,616 Members 3,666 Reviews 149 Favorited
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About the Author

Lois Lowry (nee Lois Ann Hammersberg) was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was educated at both Brown University and the University of Southern Maine. Before becoming an author, she worked as a photographer and a freelance journalist. Her first book, A Summer to Die, was published show more in 1977. Since then she has written over 30 books for young adults including Gathering Blue, Messenger, the Anastasia Krupnik series, and Son. She has received numerous awards including: The New York Times Best Seller,the International Reading Association's Children's Literature Award, the American Library Association Notable Book Award Citation and two Newberry Medals for Number the Stars in 1990, and The Giver in 1993. She was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by Brown University in 2014. The Giver is part of a Quartet of books; it is the first book, followed by Gathering Blue, messenger and Son. The Giver has been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted it as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies. It was also made into a feature film of the same name released in 2014. Lois Lowry also made the Hans Christian Andersen Awards 2016 finalists in the author category. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Author Lois Lowry at the 2016 Texas Book Festival. By Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53502477

Series

Works by Lois Lowry

The Giver (1993) 39,720 copies
Number the Stars (1989) 18,621 copies
Gathering Blue (2000) 9,546 copies
Messenger (2004) 6,240 copies
Son (2012) 3,346 copies
Gossamer (2006) 2,151 copies
The Willoughbys (2008) 1,739 copies
Gooney Bird Greene (2002) 1,706 copies
Anastasia Krupnik (1979) 1,459 copies
The Giver Quartet (2014) 1,071 copies
The Silent Boy (2003) 1,010 copies
A Summer to Die (1977) 912 copies
Anastasia Again! (1981) 695 copies
Crow Call (2009) 666 copies
Anastasia at your Service (1982) 646 copies
Anastasia, Ask your Analyst (1984) — Author — 541 copies
Anastasia on Her Own (1985) 539 copies
All About Sam (1988) 529 copies
Anastasia has the Answers (1986) 498 copies
Attaboy, Sam! (1992) 473 copies
Anastasia's Chosen Career (1987) 467 copies
Autumn Street (1980) 409 copies
Anastasia at this Address (1991) 363 copies
Stay!: Keeper's Story (1721) 331 copies
Bless This Mouse (2011) 314 copies
Anastasia Absolutely (1995) 306 copies
Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye (1978) 303 copies
See You Around, Sam! (1996) 281 copies
The Birthday Ball (2010) 253 copies
Taking Care of Terrific (1983) 251 copies
Rabble Starkey (1600) 242 copies
Gooney Bird Is So Absurd (2009) 214 copies
Switcharound (1600) 186 copies
Zooman Sam (Sam Krupnik) (1999) 183 copies
On the Horizon (2020) 165 copies
Gooney Bird on the Map (2011) 147 copies
Your Move, J.P.! (1990) 115 copies
US and Uncle Fraud (1984) 105 copies
The Windeby Puzzle (2023) 105 copies
The Willoughbys Return (2020) 71 copies
Tree. Table. Book. (2024) 5 copies
Here in Kennebunkport (1978) 4 copies
Anastasia - Intégrale (2014) 2 copies
The giver. Il figlio (2022) 2 copies
The Giver - Lois Lowry (SparkNotes) (2003) — Author — 2 copies
Il mistero di Windeby (2023) 1 copy
Anastasia, di nuovo! (2021) 1 copy
Livret lois lowry (2011) 1 copy
All'orizzonte (2021) 1 copy
Darul lui Jonas (2013) 1 copy
O Número das Estrelas (2016) 1 copy

Associated Works

Lord of the Flies (1954) — Afterword, some editions; Foreword, some editions — 49,397 copies
Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) — Introduction, some editions — 17,933 copies
Enchantress from the Stars (1970) — Foreword, some editions — 1,312 copies
Carrie's War (1973) — Afterword, some editions — 939 copies
The Big Book for Peace (1990) — Contributor — 815 copies
Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence (1994) — Contributor — 803 copies
The Big Book For Our Planet (1993) — Contributor — 134 copies
Tomorrowland: 10 Stories About the Future (1999) — Contributor — 123 copies
Shining On: 11 Star Authors' Illuminating Stories (2006) — Contributor, some editions; Foreword, some editions — 50 copies
It's Terrific to Be Ten (2000) — Contributor — 48 copies
Trapped!: Cages of Mind and Body (1938) — Contributor — 43 copies
Gooney Bird Greene and Her True Life Adventures (2005) — Series Creator — 2 copies
Gooney Bird Greene and her fabulous animal parade (2010) — Series Creator — 1 copy
The Willoughbys [2020 film] — Original book — 1 copy

Tagged

20th century (473) adventure (880) chapter book (904) children (874) children's (1,699) children's fiction (429) children's literature (918) classic (1,708) classics (1,655) coming of age (587) Denmark (462) dystopia (2,736) dystopian (1,287) family (770) fantasy (2,105) fiction (10,496) friendship (530) goodreads (386) historical fiction (2,332) history (366) Holocaust (1,168) juvenile (507) juvenile fiction (499) literature (955) Newbery (839) Newbery Medal (1,262) novel (1,346) own (546) read (1,781) realistic fiction (538) school (360) science fiction (3,043) series (599) survival (1,159) to-read (3,971) utopia (435) WWII (1,380) YA (1,874) young adult (3,494) young adult fiction (474)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Hammersberg, Lois Ann
Birthdate
1937-03-20
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Places of residence
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA
Tokyo, Japan
Governor's Island, New York, USA
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (show all 7)
Portland, Maine, USA
Education
Brown University
University of Southern Maine (B.A., English Literature, 1972)
Occupations
children's book author
Awards and honors
Margaret A. Edwards Award (2007)
Regina Medal (1994)
Agent
Emily van Beek (Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management)
Short biography
Lois Lowry is known for her versatility and invention as a writer. She was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York, Pennsylvania, and Japan. After studying at Brown University, she married, started a family, and turned her attention to writing. She is the author of more than forty books for young adults, including the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader's Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, NUMBER THE STARS and THE GIVER. Her first novel, A SUMMER TO DIE, was awarded the International Reading Association's Children's Book Award. Several books have been adapted to film and stage, and THE GIVER has become an opera. Her newest book, ON THE HORIZON, is a collection of memories and images from Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and post-war Japan. A mother and grandmother, Ms. Lowry divides her time between Maine and Florida. To learn more about Lois Lowry, see her website at www.loislowry.com

Members

Discussions

Found: Middle-grade book where MC dies at end in Name that Book (April 2023)
What Are You Reading the Week of 14 March 2015? in What Are You Reading Now? (March 2015)
YA/Children's Book - Sister with Leukemia in Name that Book (May 2011)

Reviews

 
Flagged
ASSG.Library | 104 other reviews | Mar 15, 2024 |
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
 
Flagged
PlumfieldCH | 1,581 other reviews | Mar 13, 2024 |

Lists

foods (1)
1990s (1)
1980s (1)

Awards

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Statistics

Works
106
Also by
18
Members
99,616
Popularity
#91
Rating
3.9
Reviews
3,666
ISBNs
1,140
Languages
25
Favorited
149

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