Lois Lowry

Author of The Giver

99+ Works 97,342 Members 3,618 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

Includes the names: Los Lowry, Lois Lowry, Lois Lowry, Lois Lowery, lois lowrey, Louis Lowry, Lois Lowery, by Lois Lowry, Лоїс Лоурі

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

Popular Recent

The Giver (1993) 38,860 copies

Number the Stars (1989) 18,163 copies

Gathering Blue (2000) 9,300 copies

Messenger (2004) 6,068 copies

Son (2012) 3,240 copies

Gossamer (2006) 2,125 copies

The Willoughbys (2008) 1,706 copies

Gooney Bird Greene (2002) 1,681 copies

Anastasia Krupnik (1979) 1,438 copies

The Giver Quartet (2014) 1,013 copies

The Silent Boy (2003) 988 copies

A Summer to Die (1977) 896 copies

Anastasia Again! (1981) 685 copies

Crow Call (2009) 661 copies

Anastasia at your Service (1982) 575 copies

Anastasia, Ask your Analyst (1984) 565 copies

Anastasia on Her Own (1985) 531 copies

All About Sam (1988) 521 copies

Anastasia has the Answers (1986) 490 copies

Attaboy, Sam! (1992) 467 copies

Anastasia's Chosen Career (1987) 464 copies

Like the Willow Tree : Portland, Maine, 1918 (2011) 415 copies

Autumn Street (1980) 403 copies

Looking Back: A Book of Memories (1998) 389 copies

Anastasia at this Address (1991) 359 copies

Gooney Bird and the Room Mother (2016) 358 copies

Stay!: Keeper's Story (1721) 329 copies

Bless This Mouse (2011) 309 copies

Gooney the Fabulous (Gooney Bird) (2007) 309 copies

Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye (1978) 301 copies

Anastasia Absolutely (1995) 299 copies

See You Around, Sam! (1996) 279 copies

Rhinos & Raspberries: Tolerance Tales For The Early Grades (2006) — Foreword — 261 copies

Taking Care of Terrific (1983) 251 copies

The Giver (Graphic Novel) (1) (Giver Quartet) (2019) 249 copies

The Birthday Ball (2010) 248 copies

Rabble Starkey (1600) 239 copies

Gooney Bird Is So Absurd (2009) 212 copies

The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline (1983) 191 copies

Switcharound (1600) 186 copies

Zooman Sam (Sam Krupnik) (1999) 177 copies

On the Horizon (2020) 157 copies

Gooney Bird on the Map (2011) 146 copies

The Worlds of Lois Lowry 3 Copy Boxed Set (The Giver, Gathering Blue, The Messenger) (2006) 128 copies

Your Move, J.P.! (1990) 113 copies

Gooney Bird and All Her Charms (Gooney Bird Greene) (2014) 104 copies

US and Uncle Fraud (1984) 100 copies

The Windeby Puzzle (2023) 86 copies

The Willoughbys Return (2020) 61 copies

Gooney Bird Greene Three Books in One!: (Gooney Bird Greene, Gooney Bird and the Room Mother, Gooney the Fabulous) (2016) 31 copies

Rhinos & Raspberries: Tolerance Tales For The Early Grades (Teacher's Edition) (PreK-6th Grade) (2006) 29 copies

Anastasia Off Her Rocker (An Anastasia Krupnik story) (1984) 29 copies

The Woods at the End of Autumn Street (1987) 24 copies

The Gooney Bird Collection: Gooney Bird Greene; Gooney Bird and the Room Mother; Gooney the Fabulous; Gooney Bird Is So… (2009) 20 copies

Anastasia: "Anastasia Krupnik", "Anastasia Again!", "Anastasia at Your Service" (Three-in-one) (1993) 14 copies

Handle with Care: making a difference (Celebrate Reading!) (1993) 11 copies

Anastasia: Three of the Best (1996) 10 copies

The Giver: A Play (2010) 9 copies

Literature Guide: The Giver (Grades 4-8) (1997) 5 copies

Anastasia. Hals über Kopf: Enthält die Einzelbände: Anastasia mit der rosa Warze / Anastasia verflixt noch mal (2001) 4 copies

Here in Kennebunkport (1978) 4 copies

The Sam Krupnik Series: All About Sam; Attaboy, Sam!; See You Around, Sam!; Zooman Sam (2010) 3 copies

Literature Guide: Number the Stars (Grades 4-8) (1997) 3 copies

Number the Stars Guided Reading Classroom Set (1990) 3 copies

The Giver (L-i-t Guide Literature in Teaching ) (1995) 3 copies

Anastasia Krupnik Stories (boxed set) (An Anastasia Krupnik story) (2017) 3 copies

L-i-t Guide Literature in Teaching Number the Stars (1996) 2 copies

The Giver - Lois Lowry (SparkNotes) (2003) — Author — 2 copies

The giver. Il figlio (2022) 2 copies

Pots comptar els estels? (L'Esparver) (2002) 2 copies

Anatasia Series: 5 Titles - Anastasia Krupnik - Anastasia At Your Service - Anastasia Again - Anastasia on Her Own 2 copies

Rigorous Reading: The Giver (In-Depth Guides for Great Literature), Grades 5–8 from Teacher Created Resources (2016) 2 copies

Anastasia - Intégrale (2014) 2 copies

A Newbery Collection boxed set (2011) 2 copies

Anastasia Boxed Set - 8 Books 1 copy

O Número das Estrelas (2016) 1 copy

Livret lois lowry (2011) 1 copy

The Giver (Mass Market Paperback) - Newbery Classics 1 copy

Valahol messze 1 copy

Anastasia novamente! 1 copy

Il mistero di Windeby (2023) 1 copy

Quién cuenta las estrellas (ESPASA JUVENIL) (Spanish Edition) (2009) 1 copy

Pots comprar els estels? (1993) 1 copy

Spočítej hvězdy 1 copy

Gooney Bird Greene and the Room Mother 1 copy

O Meu Nome é Anastasia Krupnik (1992) 1 copy

Anastasia Krupnik Book Set (4) : Anstasia Again - Zooman Sam - Anastasia At This Address (An Unofficial Box Set) (2000) 1 copy

The Giver. Il messaggero 1 copy

Lois Lowry Set: The Giver Number the Stars 1 copy

Darul lui Jonas (2013) 1 copy

Lovely Presents The Encountering of Rabbits (2007) 1 copy

All'orizzonte (2021) 1 copy

Anastasia, di nuovo! (2021) 1 copy

Elliot's House 1 copy

The Giver Sourcebook (Literature Connections English) (2004) 1 copy

Ich weiß nicht, wer ich bin (1983) 1 copy

The Giver - Activity Pack (2004) 1 copy

Children's Newbery Award Winners, set of 10: Caddie Woodlawn, Holes, Ginger Pye, Sarah Plain & Tall, Summer of Swans,… (1986) 1 copy

The Giver Study Guide 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Lord of the Flies (1954) — Afterword, some editions; Foreword, some editions — 48,533 copies

Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) — Introduction, some editions — 17,619 copies

Enchantress from the Stars (1970) — Foreword, some editions — 1,282 copies

Carrie's War (1973) — Afterword, some editions — 920 copies

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales (2011) — Contributor — 842 copies

The Big Book for Peace (1990) — Contributor — 798 copies

Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence (1994) — Contributor — 794 copies

The Big Book For Our Planet (1993) — Contributor — 131 copies

Tomorrowland: 10 Stories About the Future (1999) — Contributor — 119 copies

Necessary Noise: Stories About Our Families as They Really Are (2003) — Contributor — 78 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

Open Your Eyes: Extraordinary Experiences in Faraway Places (2003) — Contributor — 41 copies

Totally Middle School: Tales of Friends, Family, and Fitting In (2018) — Contributor — 18 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

Tagged

20th century (459) adventure (866) chapter book (873) children (856) children's (1,647) children's fiction (417) children's literature (906) classic (1,676) classics (1,565) coming of age (574) Denmark (468) dystopia (2,639) dystopian (1,186) family (753) fantasy (2,083) fiction (10,222) friendship (526) goodreads (360) historical fiction (2,256) history (352) Holocaust (1,124) juvenile (488) juvenile fiction (487) literature (926) Newbery (816) Newbery Medal (1,254) novel (1,314) own (526) read (1,694) realistic fiction (536) school (348) science fiction (2,934) series (586) survival (1,135) to-read (3,641) utopia (431) WWII (1,342) YA (1,873) young adult (3,383) young adult fiction (460)

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 4)

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

Son by Lois Lowry

Loved this one... a fantastic finale to the stories.

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decaturmamaof2 | 154 other reviews | Nov 22, 2023 |

Gathering blue by Lois Lowry

Really good - immediately heading to the next one as these are quick reads.

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decaturmamaof2 | 288 other reviews | Nov 22, 2023 |

Messenger by Lois Lowry

I raced through this one, as I was eager to find out what happened with Matty and Kira. I'm not sure I liked the ending, it felt a bit rushed, but liked the book overall.

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decaturmamaof2 | 195 other reviews | Nov 22, 2023 |

The giver by Lois Lowry

I don't know how I made it until today before reading this book. It's on my 6th grader's summer reading list so I thought I'd read it too. OMGGGGGGGGG. I plowed through it in one afternoon. It's so good. I love how Lowry has the full importof what's happening just sneak up on you quietly. My girl is gonna BAWL reading this book, but the message is really important. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

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decaturmamaof2 | 1,558 other reviews | Nov 22, 2023 |

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