Meet Newberry-medalist Lois Lowry

Columbia River Families read and discuss The Giver with acclaimed author Lois Lowry.

Lois Lowry is one very few authors to receive two Newberry Medals; one for The Giver and one for Number the Stars. Her more than 30 young-adult books include the Anastasia series, the Sam Krupnik series, The Giver trilogy, and the Gooney bird books.

The Giver, recommended for readers age 5th grade and above, is set in a futuristic utopia with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment. When Jonas turns twelve, and is assigned to be trained as the new Giver, he discovers a disturbing truth about this "ideal" world, and struggles with what to do.

"Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft ... Lowry is in top form — raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers" says Publisher's Weekly.

Lowry 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. The Giver is also a 1996 Young Reader's Choice Award Winner.

In Lois' own words:

"My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. ...[The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger trilogy] take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment."

"My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth. I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - 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."

Buy The Giver - $6.99