there. Her father was an Army dentist, and as many military families do, they moved a lot. She went to Brown University in Rhode Island and majored in writing, but left during her sophomore year at age 19 to be married. Her husband was a Naval officer and she and her husband similarly moved from place to place. After he left the military, they lived in Cambridge, Mass. where her husband went to Harvard Law School. They later moved to main and had four children.

While there, she went to the University of Southern Maine and finished her degree and began Graduate school. After her marriage ended in 1977, she began writing. Her writing has been inspired by her children's adventures. She has focused on children and young adult novels and been a prolific and award winning author. She won the Newbery Medal for The Giver and for Number the Stars. The Newbery Medal is a highly coveted award given each year to an author by librarians. It is named after an eighteenth century British bookseller who was interested in producing quality books.

All of her books are not like this one. She has a series of books about a girl named Anastasia Krupnik. She also has many stand-alone books about many different characters in many different situations. Her books tend to illustrate for us the importance of human connections. She has chosen a number of varied and important topics in her novels, including: cancer, the Holocaust, mental illness, adoption, and in this title, future societies. She stated, "I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another" .

She has written two books since she wrote this one that will surely interest readers who like The Giver. They are Gathering Blue and Messenger. The Giver, Gathering Blue and Messenger are a trilogy. Each is about a different culture, different than ours and different from each other.

Lois Lowry is now a grandmother. She lives in Massachusetts and has a vacation home in New Hampshire.

Her works include:

A Summer to Die, 1977 (autobiographical)
Find a Stranger, 1978
Anastasia Krupnik, 1979
Autumn Street, 1979
Anastasia Again!, 1981
Anastasia at Your Service, 1982
Taking Care of Terrific, 1983
Anastasia Ask Your Analyst,1984
Us and Uncle Fraud, 1984
One Hundredth Thing About Caroline. 1985
Anastasia on Her Own, 1985
Switcharound, 1985
Anastasia Has the Answers. 1986
Rabble Starkey, 1987
Anastasia's Chosen Career, 1987
All About Sam, 1988
Number the Stars, 1989 * Newberry Medal Winner
Your Move J.P.!, 1990
Anastasia at This Address, 1991
Attaboy, Sam!, 1992
The Giver, 1993 * Newberry Medal Winner
Anastasia, Absolutely, 1995
See You Around Sam!, 1996
Gathering Blue, 2000
Messenger, 2004
(note: The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger are a trilogy)