Lois Lowry: Biography

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1937, Lois Lowry is one of America’s most popular and versatile children’s authors. Since her father was an army officer, Lowry lived her life in many different places. She spent some of her school years in Japan, and spent two years at Brown University, USA, as a writing major, before dropping out to get married. She had four children, but eventually divorced her husband.

In 1977, Lowry published her first novel, A Summer to Die, which was based on her own experience of losing her older sister, Helen, to cancer at a young age. The novel received the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award.

After A Summer to Die, Lowry wrote several other books that gained popularity among young adults. It was Lowry’s Anastasia series and Number the Stars that made her popular and brought her acclaim. Number the Stars won the Newbery Medal and the National Jewish Book Award in 1990. Later, The Giver won the Newbery Medal in 1994.