Lois Lowry (born Lois Ann Hammersberg on March 20, 1937) is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. Her work as a journalist drew the attention of powerhouse literary publisher Houghton Mifflin and they encouraged her to write her first children's book, A Summer to Die, which was published in 1977 when she was forty years old.
She has since written more than thirty books for children and published an autobiography. Two of her works have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal: Number the Stars (which dealt with the Holocaust) in 1989, and The Giver in 1993.
As an author, Lowry is known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children. She has discussing complex issues like racism and terminal illness among other challenging topics. She has also explored very controversial matters of questioning authority such as in The Giver quartet.
With a lyrical voice and the utmost of sensitivity, her books are much deeper than many other examples of children’s literature. Her writing however on these topics has brought her both praise and criticism. The Giver has particularly been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted her book as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies.
Today, Lois remains active by not only continuing to write and speaking at appearances, but also enjoying time at her homes in Massachusetts and Maine. She takes pleasure in reading, knitting, gardening, and entertaining her four grandchildren.
She wrote of her hope for the future recently on her blog, "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."
Lowry has suggested that she is religious, but not so religious as "to have a favorite psalm."
As an author, Lowry is known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children. She has discussing complex issues like racism and terminal illness among other challenging topics. She has also explored very controversial matters of questioning authority such as in The Giver quartet.
With a lyrical voice and the utmost of sensitivity, her books are much deeper than many other examples of children’s literature. Her writing however on these topics has brought her both praise and criticism. The Giver has particularly been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted her book as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies.
Today, Lois remains active by not only continuing to write and speaking at appearances, but also enjoying time at her homes in Massachusetts and Maine. She takes pleasure in reading, knitting, gardening, and entertaining her four grandchildren.
She wrote of her hope for the future recently on her blog, "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."
Lowry has suggested that she is religious, but not so religious as "to have a favorite psalm."
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