
Lowry began reading at three years old, which allowed her to skip the first grade when she started school at age six in Carlisle at the Franklin School. They relocated in 1942 to her mother's hometown in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, when Lowry's father was deployed to the Pacific during World War II. Lowry and her family moved from Hawaii to Brooklyn, New York, in 1939, when Lowry was two years old. Lowry's father was an army dentist, whose work moved the family all over the United States and to many parts of the world. Helen died of cancer in 1962, but Lowry and her brother still share a close relationship. She has an older sister named Helen, and a younger brother called Jon. : 24 Initially, Lowry's parents named her "Cena" for her Norwegian grandmother, but upon hearing the news, her grandmother telegraphed and instructed Lowry's parents that the child should have an American name. : xi Her maternal grandfather, Merkel Landis, a banker, created the Christmas Club savings program in 1910. Lowry was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, to Katherine Gordon Landis and Robert E. The Giver, which is common in the curriculum in some schools, has been prohibited in others. Many of her books have been challenged or even banned in some schools and libraries. Her book Gooney Bird Greene won the 2002 Rhode Island Children's Book Award.

Lowry has won two Newbery Medals: for Number the Stars in 1990 and The Giver in 1994. She is known for writing about difficult subject matters, dystopias, and complex themes in works for young audiences. She is the author of several books for children and young adults, including The Giver Quartet, Number the Stars, and Rabble Starkey. Lois Ann Lowry ( / ˈ l aʊər i/ née Hammersberg March 20, 1937) is an American writer.
