Not to be confused with writer Lois Duncan-- ("People often confuse us. We're the same age, sort of look alike, and even get each other's mail. We get a kick out of it."¹ Lois Lowry has written books for young people dealing with subjects ranging from the death of a sibling to the antics of the rebellious Anastasia Krupnik. Ever present is the author's special sense of humor.

Born in 1937 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Lowry was originally named Cena, after her paternal grandmother. "But that name lasted only until she heard about it. No grandchild of hers, she announced, was going to bear that name. Hastily my name was changed, and when at the age of eleven months I was baptized, with a tiny lei of Hawaiian flowers around my neck, it was with the name Lois Ann, in honor of my father's two sisters back in Wisconsin. Cena...