Lois Lowry

The Giver

Lois Lowry

• 1996 YRCA-Senior winner
• 1994 Newbery winner
• 1994 Mythopoeic-Children finalist
• 1993 Horn Book-fiction honor
• Score: 32.46

Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Rabble Starkey

Lois Lowry

• 1987 Golden Kite-fiction winner
• 1987 Horn Book-fiction winner
• Score: 20.37

Many things change for twelve-year-old Rabble Starkey, her mother, and her best friend, Veronica Bigelow, when Veronica’s mother becomes mentally incapacitated and the Starkeys move in with the Bigelows.

Number the Stars

Lois Lowry

• 1990 Newbery winner
• Score: 10.4

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It’s now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are “relocated,” Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen’s life.

Gossamer

Lois Lowry

• 2009 YRCA-Junior nominee
• Score: 4.59

Littlest One is a tiny creature slowly learning her job of giving dreams to humans. Each night she and her teacher, Thin Elderly, visit an old woman’s home where she softly touches beloved objects, gathering happy memories, and drops of old scents and sounds. Littlest One pieces these bits together and presents them to her sleeping human in the form of pleasant dreams. But the dreaded Sinisteeds, dark fearsome creatures that plague their victims with nightmares, are always at work against the dreamgivers. When the old woman takes in John, an angry foster child with a troubled past, the Sinisteeds go after him with their horrifying nightmares. Can Littlest One, and her touch light as gossamer, protect John’s heart and soul from the nightmare of his dark past?

Zooman Sam

Lois Lowry, Diane de Groat

• 2002 YRCA-Junior nominee
• Score: 4.52

It’s Future Job Day at Sam’s school, and Sam knows exactly what he wants to be when he grows up-a zookeeper, just like Zookeeper Jake in his favorite picture book. His mother and big sister, Anastasia, help Sam create a memorable costume-so memorable that Sam insists on wearing it long after Future Job Day has passed and the rest of his classmates are back in their regular clothes.

Encouraged by Mrs. Bennett, his teacher, Sam embarks on a lengthy project to teach his preschool class about a zookeeper’s responsibilities, and along the way learns just how…