Lois Lowry
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Lois was born in Hawaii on March 20, 1937. She was the second child, and her dad was an army dentist. With her dad in the army, she had to move a lot. She got to live in many places. Lowry also taught herself how to read and write. Her mom constantly read aloud, and her dad often told stories about his childhood. However, after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the United States went to war. In 1994, the family was separated from their father who was sent off to war. With her children, Lois's mom returned to her home town in Pennsylvania. Then she had help from her family and relatives. There, Lois created a special relationship with her grandfather. Soon after, a baby brother was born. Lois also started school. She had already taught herself how to read and write, and was ahead of her classmates. As a result, she skipped second grade. After the war ended they had to move again. They moved to Japan, where her dad was living. They were happy to reunite. After two years, the Korean War broke out. The family was separated again, and moved back to Pennsylvania. The stay was short, and her father finally came back. Then they moved to New York, where her dad's assignment would be. Lois first attended a public high school there, but later transferred to a private girls' school. She was very shy, and still loved to read and write. After high school, she went to Brown University. She got a scholarship, and accepted into the honors writing program. Then she met her future husband. His name was Donald Grey Lowry. He persuaded her to stop her education and marry him. By the age of 25, she already had four children. Her husband was an officer in the Navy, so her life was very similar to her childhood. Later, Donald went to Harvard law school, and the family lived in Cambridge. During her time there, she learned that her sister was dying of cancer. She made plans to go visit, but was never able to see her alive again. After Donald graduated from law school, the family moved to Maine. Lois spent most of her time taking care of her children. When her youngest child started school, Lois decided to finish her education. She enrolled at the University of Southern Maine, where she earned her BA and started on her masters degree. She started to write nonfiction articles and short stories. They were published in newspapers and magazines. Then she made her first novel, a summer to die. It is a book about two sisters, and one dies from illness. It was inspired by her own sister, who died from cancer earlier. The same year the book was published, her marriage ended. After the divorce she moved to Boston, and started writing for young people. Most of the books were inspired by her own life, and her childhood. Her third novel autumn street was about a family living in Pennsylvania during the war. It was very serious, and after Lois decided to write happier work. After writing many books she started on The Giver. It earned Lois her second Newbery medal. After receiving the award she said that her life in Japan and at Brown helped her write the book. It was certain things like a visit with her father in a nursing home, that led her to think about problems like pain, hurt, and war. She used those things to write The Giver.