Lois Lowry

Lois is one of the best writers in the world. You may have read her Newbery Award winner, Number the Stars. She has also written the miraculous book, The Giver. Her devotion to bringing children joy is magnificent.

Lois Lowry was born on March 20, 1937 in Hawaii. Her parents were Robert and Katharine Hammersberg. Her father was an army dentist and her family lived in many places. She had two siblings. Lois’s older sister was named Helen, and her brother was named Jon. The Lowry family moved to New York. Then most of the World War II years were spent in her mother’s home town in Pennsylvania. Lois was a child who loved books, and she had an excellent imagination. Lowry loved the imaginary world in books, too. When she was 11, she moved to Tokyo, Japan and then came back to the United States and went to high school in N.Y.C. Lois went to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Lois got married when she was 19 (in her sophomore year.) She married a navel officer and moved, again to many different places. Her husband left the military and entered Harvard Law School. After law school the Lowrys moved to Maine with their four children, all under five!

Her children grew up in Maine, while Lois returned to college. After getting her college degree she went to graduate school. After school she began to write for a living. She got divorced in 1977. Today she lives and writes in West Cambridge. Lois Lowry has a Tibetan terrier named Bandit. Lois loves to knit, play cards, cook, travel, and spend time with her children. Ms. Lowry has even photographed some of her own titles.

By Alex & Luke, fourth grade, 2006