Lois Lowry, born in Hawaii and raised in various locations such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Japan, is famed for her versatility and inventiveness as an author. After her academics at Brown University, Lois began her writing career while also starting a family.
Author of over forty young adult books, her works include the well-known Anastasia Krupnik series. Lois has garnered multiple accolades throughout her career, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader's Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. Notably, two of her novels, 'Number The Stars' and 'The Giver', won her Newbery Medals.
Her debut novel, 'A Summer to Die', was honored with the International Reading Association's Children's Book Award. Several of her books have been adapted for stage and screen, with 'The Giver' even becoming an opera. 'On The Horizon', Lois's most recent book, is a poignant collection of memories and images from pivotal events like Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and post-war Japan.
Splitting her time between Maine and Florida, Lois is a devoted mother and grandmother. Interested readers can discover more about her on her official website, www.loislowry.com.
A Conversation with Lois Lowry about 'The Giver'
Q. When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
A. I cannot remember ever not wanting to be a writer.
Q. What inspired you to write The Giver?
A. The concept of memory greatly interests me, how it works, what we learn from it. It's been a fascination of mine, and this interest was probably one of the origins of 'The Giver'.
Q. How did you decide what Jonas should take on his journey?
A. Jonas's choices were out of necessity. He chose quickly because circumstances didn't allow for preparation. He brought food to survive, used a bicycle for speed, and took the baby, Gabriel, for love, safety, and future - babies represent the future and Jonas took Gabriel to create a new life.
Q. Did you intend to leave the ending open to interpretation?
A. Yes, I deliberately left the ending vague. 'The Giver' means different things to different people, and I didn't want to impose my beliefs upon the readers.
Q. Is the ending optimistic? Does Jonas survive?
A. I consider the ending optimistic. Music playing in a house with its lights on, can't be anything but a happy ending. As for Jonas's fate and the form their new life takes, I would like readers to figure it out for themselves.
Q. How is 'Gathering Blue' a companion to 'The Giver'?
A. Like 'The Giver', 'Gathering Blue' presents a future world, albeit one that has regressed technologically. I hinted at the possibility of Jonas's world coexisting with the one in 'Gathering Blue'. I have since published two more books - 'Messenger', and 'Son' - which complete 'The Giver Quartet' and confirm that the light-eyed boy in 'Gathering Blue' is Jonas. In 'Son', readers discover the fates of Jonas, Gabe, and other beloved characters.
