AUTHOR STUDY: LOIS LOWRY Image source: http://www.loislowry.com/ Presented by: Eileen Seligman
Biography Born: Lois Ann Hammersberg Date: March 20, 1937 Place: Honolulu, Hawaii Siblings: Helen & Jon (Lois is the middle child) Lowry at age 19 wedding Image source: http://www.loislowry.com/ Solitary, shy child who loved reading & books Father was career military officer (Army dentist) Grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania Moved to Tokyo, Japan for grades 7 & 8 Graduated from high school in New York City Went to Brown University in Rhode Island, but dropped out sophomore year to marry at age 19 to a military officer Lowry at age 3. Her sister taught her to read. Image source: http://www.loislowry.com/
Carlisle, PA 1947 - Lowry in sixth grade Image source: http://www.loislowry.com/
Biography Career before being an author: journalist & photographer First novel: A Summer to Die (1977 at age 40!) First Newbery Award: Number the Stars (1990) Second Newbery Award: The Giver (1994) Had 4 children (2 daughters: Alix & Kristin; 2 sons: Grey & Ben) Lived in 5 states (CA, CT, FL, SC, MA) before settling down in Maine with kids In Maine, finished college and got graduate degree from University of Southern Maine Got divorced in 1977 at age 40 when she wrote her first novel based on the early death of her sister Written over 42 books! Did not remarry, but Lowry spent 30 years with Martin (died in 2011) Loves poetry, New York Times crossword puzzles, and traveling Lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her terrier dog, Alfie, and her cat, Lulu Also, Lowry has a 1768 farmhouse in Maine where she spends time with her grandchildren
Awards (not a full list) Newbery Medal (1990 and 1994) Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Contribution to Young Adult Literature, 2007 Hans Christian Andersen Award nominee (United States: 2000, 2004) Regina Medal (1994) National Jewish Book Award (1990) Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (1987 and 1993) Sydney Taylor Book Award Hope S. Dean Award New England Book Award Chicago Tribune Young Adult Fiction Prize Golden Kite Award International Reading Association Children s Book Award International Board on Books for Young People Honor List Kerlan Award The Children's Book Committee Bank Street College of Education The Outstanding Children's Books of the Year Parents' Choice Gold Little D Award 2011 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Lamstein Lecture at the University of Michigan 2001 Zena Sutherland Lecture Anne Carroll Moore Lecture Frances Clarke Sayers Lecture
With Martin in Iceland Image source: http://www.loislowry.com/ Photo credit: Matt McKee Image source: http://www.teach ingbooks.net/
Significant Works (In Chronological Order) Lowry, Lois. A Summer to Die. Boston: Houghton, 1977. Print. Lowry, Lois. Anastasia Krupnik. Boston: Houghton, 1979. Print. Lowry, Lois. Autumn Street. Boston: Houghton, 1980. Print. 1 ST BOOK AT 40! Grades 7-10 1979; Anastasia Series; Grades 4-6 1980; Grades 5-7 Lowry, Lois. The One Hundredth Thing about Caroline. Boston: Houghton, 1983. Print. Lowry, Lois. All about Sam. Boston: Houghton, 1988. Print. Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Boston: Houghton, 1989. Print. 1980; Tate Series; Grades 3-6 1988; Sam Series; Grades 4-6 1989; Grades 5-7 Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. Print. Lowry, Lois. Looking Back: A Book of Memories. Boston: Houghton, 1998. Print. #1 Image sources: Titlewave, Goodreads, Lois Lowry website 1993; Quartet; Grades 5-10 1998; Memoir; Grades 4-8
Significant Works (In Chronological Order) Lowry, Lois. Gathering Blue. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000. Print. #2 Lowry, Lois. Gooney Bird Greene. Boston: Houghton, 2002. Print. Lowry, Lois. The Silent Boy. Boston: Houghton, 2003. Print. Lowry, Lois. Messenger. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print. Lowry, Lois. Gossamer. Boston: Houghton, 2006. Print. 2000; Quartet; Grades 6-9 2002; Series; Grades 2-5 2003; Grades 5-8 2009; Grades 2-6 Lowry, Lois. Crow Call. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print. Lowry, Lois. Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce. New York: Scholastic, 2011. Print. Lowry, Lois. Son. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print. #3 2004; Quartet; Grades 6-10 2006; Grades 5-8 #4 Image sources: Titlewave, Goodreads, Lois Lowry website 2011; Grades 4-8 2012; Quartet; Grades 6-10 3
Series & Genres Series: Anastasia Krupnik Genre: Realistic Fiction; Grades 4-6 ALA Notable Children's Books 1995 Series: Tate Series Genre: Realistic Fiction; Grades 3-6 Series: Sam Krupnik Genre: Realistic Fiction; Grades 4-6 Series: Gooney Bird Genre: Humor; Realistic Fiction; Grades 2-5 ALA Notable Children's Books 2003 Series: Giver Quartet Genre: Science Fiction (Dystopia); Grades 5-10 1994 Newbery Medal winner for The Giver **For more books by Lois Lowry, please see https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/2493.lois_lo wry Image sources: Titlewave, Goodreads, Amazon, Lois Lowry website
Major Themes, Topics, & Genres Coming of Age Memory Ethics Pain vs. Pleasure Individual vs. Community Customs & Traditions Special Needs/Disabilities Orphans Community Life Nature & the Natural World Healing Human Impact Generosity vs. Indulgence Mothers and Children (Parenting) Separation Relationships Racism Terminal Illness Uncompromising choices Murder Holocaust World War II Authority Safety & Comfort Realistic Fiction Humor Fantasy Historical Fiction Science Fiction (Dystopia) Autobiography **Books vary by content and style, but all Lowry s books have a general theme of human connections.**
Influences on writing Her sister s death for A Summer to Die. The death of her son, Grey, in 1995 led her to write Looking Back: A Book of Memories for her granddaughter, Nadine. Her childhood with a military father for Crow Call and Anastasia Krupnik Series. Her mother, especially after a stroke when talking about dreams for Gossamer. She likes to create worlds like in The Giver Quartet. She likes to play with words and reads poetry to get excited about language. (The Giver is an example of the precise use of language.) She does not have an outline or plan. She starts with a character in mind, and she likes to be surprised with the reader. For Number of the Stars, Lowry took the picture of the Swedish child on the cover when she was a photographer. Lowry even utilized photos as part of the plot to fool the soldiers (TeachingBooks.net, 2006). For The Giver, Lowry took a picture of Carl Nelson for an article about a painter in Maine. He later became blind, which made his photo even more fitting to be featured for the cover (TeachingBooks.net, 2006). She has a constant revision process, and she reads aloud to hear how the words sound when she is done writing. Image sources: Goodreads
Influences on writing Ideas come from your imagination. What triggers your imagination? Things that you read, see, overhear, dream, or wonder about. Anything that makes you think: "What if? " is the start of a story. --Lowry, 2012 There s a constant revision going on as I write. --Lowry, 2006 It's the choosing that's important, isn't it? --Lowry, The Giver Let s open the coffin, Number of Stars --Lowry came back the next day excited to write for her characters what happens when they open the coffin. (TeachingBooks.net, 2006).
Video & Audio Lois Lowry on her writing process and The Giver Audio from Lois Lowry about poetry and the writing process Please click pictures to access
Why Teach or Use Her Books Teens can be empowered by the future with Lowry s belief of young people. Lowry makes readers wonder about how to make decisions and weigh options. Teens can learn from strong, likeable characters from her books to rise to challenges and obstacles in their lives. Her novels ask teens to look at our history, like in Number the Stars, and the future, like in The Giver Quartet, to question, to stand up for what is right, and to make worldchanging decisions. Teens can explore different worlds in the safety of their home by reading Lowry s books. Original writing with authentic dialogue will resonate with teens for memorable characters. The third person point of view is told from the perspectives of the main characters. Controversial themes and topics like racism, discrimination, poverty, violence, sexual content, murder, euthanasia are discussed in her books in order for teens to tackle difficult issues in their own lives. Check out more resources for teaching: http://www.teachingbooks.net/ql8aq3h
Cautions & Reservations American Library Association s cites Lowry in 2002, 2005, and 2007 for one of the Most Frequently Challenged Authors of the 21 st Century. American Library Association lists the trilogy of The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger among the most frequently challenged books of the 1990 s. Some objections based on The Giver Quartet: violent themes sexual content depiction of infanticide and euthanasia suicide encouragement occult theme mind control degradation of motherhood Image source: Goodreads
Book Share #1: The Giver ISBN-13: 978-0-440-23768-6 Number of Pages: 179 Source: Potomac Library Recommended grade/age levels: Grades 5-9 (from Destiny); Ages 10+ *Made into a movie: August 15, 2014: Cast: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Katie Holmes Directed by: Phillip Noyce Check out the movie trailer at: https://youtu.be/fh6b4s9eny4 Awards: Newbery Medal, 1994; Booklist starred, 04/15/93; Horn Book Magazine starred, 09/01/93; Black-Eyed Susan Award winner 1994-1995; Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, 1993 Description: This book begins the Giver Quartet series. There is a community where everything is perfect and all the citizens are assigned a role in it. There are no choices. Everyone must conform or be released from the society. Elders and babies that are not strong enough are released. There are also no feelings or color in this world, including love, hate, and pain. The story is told from the perspective of Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy, who receives the great honor of the job, Receiver of Memory. Every citizen of this society receives their adult job at the Ceremony of Twelve. As Jonas embarks on his trainings from The Giver, he soon discovers the world he is truly missing. Rosemary, the last Receiver, could not handle the job or the truth. Colors and feelings emerge. The truth is sometimes worse than we expect, and Jonas must confront these new feelings and decide how he will handle these memories. MLA Citation: Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. Print. Image source: Goodreads
Book Share #2: The Gathering Blue ISBN-13: 978-0-547-90414-6 Number of pages: 241 Source: Rockville Memorial Library Recommended grade/age levels: Grades 6-9 (from Destiny); Ages 12+; YA Awards: Booklist starred, 06/01/00; Black-Eyed Susan Nominee 2003-2004; Massachusetts Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Literature (2001); Rebecca Caudill Young Reader s Book Award Nominee (2003) Description: This book is the second book in the Giver Quartet series. It is a companion book to The Giver and connects with similar themes, but not the same characters. It centers around the main character, Kira, who was born with a handicap, a twisted leg. In a community ruled by selfishness and deceit, the strong and able-bodied survive while the weak and disabled are sent to the Field of Leaving, similar to the release concept in The Giver. However, Kira is saved at birth because of her mother s love and ability to stand up against a village, especially since Kira s father, Christopher, was a well-respected hunter. Christopher was believed to be killed by the beasts. Once Kira s mother dies, Kira must defend her life in front of the Council of Guardians, with help from her representative, Jamison, regarding Vandara s charges about Kira being useless and a burden to the community. Vandara just wants Kira s mother s land in order to build a pen for the unruly toddlers of the community. At the Council of Edifice, the ruling changes Kira s role in the community. Her gift of weaving saves her life, and she will be responsible for repairing and finishing the Singer s robe for the annual Gathering ceremony. This mandatory community event is where the Singer tells the history, customs, and traditions of the community in song. Kira must learn all the dying of the threads from Annabella in order to complete the Singer s robe. The only color missing is blue. Soon Kira discovers that she does not know the whole truth about her community. Thomas, Jo, Annabella, Matt and Christopher will help her figure out the answers. There may not be beasts after all. MLA Citation: Lowry, Lois. Gathering Blue. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000. Print. Image source: Goodreads
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-73716-6 Book Share #3: Messenger Number of pages: 169 Source: Rockville Memorial Library Recommended grade/age levels: Grades 6-10 (from Destiny); Ages 12+; YA Awards: Booklist starred, 02/15/04; Kirkus Reviews starred, 04/01/04; Publishers Weekly starred, 02/16/04; Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) starred, 06/01/04 Description: This book is the third book in the Giver Quartet series. It is a companion book to The Giver and to Gathering Blue. It connects with similar themes and unites some of the characters from the previous books. The book opens with Matty (no longer Matt from Gathering Blue) living with Seer, who is blind and wise (Christopher, Kira s father, from Gathering Blue). Matty s new village welcomes and helps everyone, including the sick and disabled, unlike the place where Matty initially came from where people were violent, despicable, and selfish. Matty has developed from a troublesome, deceitful boy to a caring young man in his new community. Matty is desperate to receive the true name of Messenger from Leader (Jonas from The Giver) after all his brave journeys into the Forest. Matty is the only one that can travel back and forth between the regions to bring messages without the Forest harming him. The forest acts human-like with the ability to warn of death to villagers who try to pass through it and kill if those warnings are not heeded. It is in the Forest where Matty discovers his gift, the power to heal, when he helps restore a frog s leg and later Jean s dog and Frolic, the puppy. However, Leader can see beyond and knows something is changing in the community. The Trade Mart where the community trades small things led by the Trademaster has become more sinister. There are supposed to be no secrets in this community knowing how secrets destroyed their former lives. The people are changing for the worst. The people vote to stop letting newcomers in the village citing they are afraid of running out of resources. Something is going on, and Leader evokes Matty to make the final journey of telling the other villages of its closing. Matty promises Seer he will go get Kira (Gathering Blue) while delivering the closing messages to the other communities since time has run out for her to come home. On the treacherous journey back with Kira and Frolic, Matty must use his new power of healing to restore the community. Will Leader and Kira use their powers to show Matty the way? Will the Image source: Goodreads Forest kill them all? MLA Citation: Lowry, Lois. Messenger. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-88720-3 Book Share #4: Son Number of pages: 393 Source: Potomac Library Recommended grade/age levels: Grades 6-10 (from Destiny); Ages 12+; YA Awards: Booklist starred, 06/01/12; Kirkus Reviews starred, 05/15/12; School Library Journal starred, 09/01/12 Description: This book is the fourth and final book in the Giver Quartet series. It is a companion book to The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger. It connects with similar themes and unites the characters from the previous books by being separated into three separate points in time distinguished by Book I: Before, Book II: Between, and Book III: Beyond. It begins with Book I where the reader meets Claire, a 14-year-old girl living in the same time period as Jonas from The Giver. Claire s job is a Birthmother, but she is decertified after having trouble with her first birth. She learns she had a son, Newchild Thirty-Six, before she is reassigned to the Fish Hatchery. Claire never took the pills that the rest of the community has to take in order to suppress their feelings, so Claire misses and loves this baby right away. She sneaks over to the Nurturing Center where she tricks Sophia to give her a tour in order to find number Thirty-Six, her Product. It is there where she meets Jonas s father, the Nurturer, and discovers Thirty-Six is labeled failure to thrive and in danger of being released. The Nurturer takes Thirty-Six home nightly, and it is decided that Thirty-Six would not be assigned to a family for another year. Unfortunately, it is soon determined Thirty-Six will not be given another chance. This is how Book I ends and The Giver coincide since Jonas escapes with Thirty-Six. The reader next meets Water Claire in Book II: Between. The sea takes Claire s memory away for a whole year when she finds herself washed ashore in a new village at the bottom of a very tall cliff. Alys, the midwife, herbalist, and caretaker of the community, nurses her back to health, and Water Claire is embraced by this new community. It is strange when Water Claire discovers colors and cooking for first time. Finally, Water Claire remembers giving birth and vows to find her baby again with the help of Fierce Einar. Einar was the only member of the community that climbed the cliff out of the village, but he was permanently disabled for it by the Trademaster when he refused to make a trade. Water Claire also endures the whispers and cruelty of the community upon her revealing that she gave birth. After six years of training with Einar and even falling in love with him, it was time for Water Claire to climb out of the village. She meets the Trademaster and trades her youth for her son, who she now knows as Gabe, not Abe. In Book III: Beyond, Gabe discovers the old woman, Claire, and his gift of veering. Jonas, who is now married to Kira with children of his own, is no longer the Leader like in the book Messenger. The village s problems have long been resolved and the welcoming community has returned. Meanwhile, Gabe is building a boat to find his mother. He knows she is out there somewhere. But, trouble is brewing ahead. Jonas thought they rid the world of the Trademaster only to discover after seeing beyond that evil is still out there. Gabe must learn to use his power to beat the Trademaster once and for all before it is too late to be reunited with his mother, the old woman. Image source: Goodreads MLA Citation: Lowry, Lois. Son. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print.
If you like Lowry s books Among the Hidden (Shadow Children #1) by Haddix, Margaret Peterson False Memory by Krokos, Dan Ashes by Bick, Ilsa J The Drowned Cities by Bacigalupi, Paolo The Destiny of Linus Hoppe by Bondoux, Anne-Laure The House of the Scorpion by Farmer, Nancy The Roar by Clayton, Emma Goodbye by Phillips, Dee Across the Universe by Revis, Beth Massive by Bell, Julia I am the Messenger by Zusak, Markus Image source: Titlewave
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