Author ofAuthor of

The GiverThe Giver

• was born in Oahu, Hawaii

• has an older sister and a younger brother

• was a military child – she lived all over the world! Hawaii, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tokyo!

• was married at the age of 19

• has four children

• scribbled stories and poems as a child, and grew up to fulfill her dream of writing professionally.

Lois’ son, Grey, was a fighter pilot in the US AirForce. His plane crashed in Germany, and he was killed.

“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. “

-- Lois Lowry

Because the death of her son affected her so deeply, and gave her a desire to fix the problems in this world, we can assume that her son’s death influenced Lowry in her writing.

Lowry inteded The Giver and its sequels to fulfill this desire.

The important thing about The Giver and its sequels is what the story says about the relationships between people, and the world.

“They … 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.”

--- Lois Lowry

Interdependent: a relationship where people depend on each other equally to survive or succeed.

For example, you may depend on your friend to give you a ride home from school, and your friend may depend on you to pick him up in the morning.

We will be looking for examples of interdependency (people relying on each other – or not) in The Giver.

Pictures and Information from www.loislowry.com