From: Kathleen Horning <khorning>
Date: Sun, 02 Feb 1997 21:16:04 -0600

Since Ellen Berrie brought up Lowry's Anastasia Krupnik series and mentioned other books by LL, I want to add two things to the discussion:

1) When Lois Lowry gave a public lecture in Madison last fall, she mentioned that Amy Carter had been her inspiration for Anastasia Krupnik. She said that just after Carter was elected, she liked the idea that there was an ordinary little kid in the White House with long, straggley hair and glasses, who attended public school and often acted her age in public. Overall she thought that Amy seemed like such an interesting character that she wanted to write about her. Most kids today, of course, have no idea who Amy Carter is (or was during the Carter Administration) but I thought that would add an interesting dimension to the books for adult readers.

2) Though I appreciate both "Number the Stars" and "The Giver" for reasons already stated by myself and others, I also admire one of Lowry's early books, "Autumn Street," an autobiographical novel based on a traumatic event that occurred in her life when she was about six years old. If you have never read "Autumn Street" I encourage you to seek it out. I think it's as good (or maybe even a little better) than "Number the Stars" and "The Giver."


K.T. Horning, CCBC School of Education, UW-Madison
Received on Sun 02 Feb 1997 09:16:04 PM CST