Lois lowry biography facts on samuel

Children’s author Lois Lowry has never been one to shy away from difficult subjects, tackling everything from racism and violence to terminal illness in her celebrated books. And with her Newbery Award-winning novel “Number the Stars” — now on stage at Nashville Children’s Theatre — she confronts the terror and chaos of the Holocaust.

Adapted to the stage by Douglas W. Larche, “Number the Stars” follows the adventures of year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen during World War II. As the play opens, we learn that the Johansens have endured many hardships during the war — most importantly, the death of Annemarie’s older sister, Lise.

But when the Nazis begin targeting Denmark’s Jewish population — including Annemarie’s best friend Ellen — the family realizes it can no longer sit by and watch history unfold. With help from Lise’s daring fiancé Peter and the mysterious Uncle Henrik, Annemarie and her parents embark on a dangerous mission to save their friends.

NCT Producing Director Scot Copeland’s considerable gifts as a director are on full display with “Number the Stars.” He keeps the action moving, balancing suspenseful scenes with nicely layered moments of reflection.

Amanda Card fully embodies the role of Annemarie, capturing the character’s youthful energy along with her growing sense of responsibility and courage. Rosemary Fossee also turns in a sensitive performance as Ellen. Together, their friendship feels quite natural.

Eric D. Pasto-Crosby brings a genuine feeling of loss and longing to Peter. It’s a tricky role that requires the actor to maneuver back and forth over time, but Pasto-Crosby makes it look easy.

Rona Carter and Samuel Whited III both are excellent as Annemarie’s parents, but I was especially moved by Carter’s quiet strength. And Derek Whittaker brings great warmth to the role of Uncle Henrik.

The production benefits greatly from Scott Boyd’s artful sc

When it comes to children&#;s lit, the rock stars don&#;t get much bigger than Lois Lowry. The award-winning, millions-of-books-selling author is coming to the Twin Cities at the end of March. She will make a stop at Wild Rumpus Book Store in Minneapolis on Tuesday, March 29, at p.m. What makes this writer, now a grandmother, so successful is that young readers really connect with her fun, sometimes edgy and always thought-provoking work.

Lowry&#;s books cover a range of styles and subjects, from middle school science fiction to mouse adventure—as in her most recent book, Bless This Mouse. What distinguishes Lowry&#;s work is her direct prose and solid story lines. Her thoughtful approach to controversial issues, as in Number the Stars, a story about children during the Holocaust, has won her books a place on many school reading lists. It has also earned her criticism. Her Newbery-Medal-winning book The Giver, a story set in a dystopian future, is one of the most frequently banned books in American schools.

Lowry fielded questions online from me and a group of sixth-grade students from St. Anthony Park Elementary School in St. Paul. The Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul is sponsoring a visit by Lowry to the school.

We read in your biography that you were originally named after a Norwegian grandmother. Many children and their families at our school have Scandinavian names, such as Siri and Bjorn, and last names such as Johnson and Lundquist. What influence did your Norwegian roots have on you?
My father (my last name, before I married, was Hammersberg) grew up with his Norwegian parents in Wisconsin, but by the time I came along (I was born in Hawaii), he was far from those roots and seldom went back. My Norwegian grandmother, though, came to live with us in Hawaii (my grandfather had died before I was born) when I was very small, and I remained close to her all my life. I have always fel

Minister, lawyer

Samuel R. Lowery was born approximately thirty 'years before the outbreak of the Civil War, but, unlike many other blacks of his time, he was never a slave. Lowery, though a free man at birth, did not fully escape the prejudice, discrimination, and neglect that most of his fellow blacks endured. In the World Exposition in New Orleans, for example, Lowery entered his mulberry leaves (food for silkworms) in the competition. His rival from France received $1, to produce an exhibit. Lowery, who received no such aid, had to pay for and construct his own exhibit. Despite this handicap, Lowery won the competition. His mulberry leaves were the largest. Not only that, they far surpassed the competition in usefulness, since they stimulated, on site, the growth of , worms and cocoons, while the competition failed to generate any. Not all Lowery's experiences of discrimination ended in triumph, however. After the Civil War, for example, the school he had established in Rutherford County, Tennessee, near where he had studied law, was completely destroyed by the Ku Klux Klan.

Although Lowery did suffer from discrimination because of his skin color, his mother, Ruth Mitchell, was actually a Cherokee Indian. She had purchased the freedom of the slave Peter Lowery, Samuel's father, and was thus responsible for Samuel's being born free. She had freed not one man, but two. Lowery was born on December 9, in Davidson County (near Nashville), Tennessee. Unfortunately, his mother died in , when he was only eight. His father worked at various times as a hack driver, a farmer, a livery stable operator, and a janitor at Franklin College. It was at Franklin that Samuel was able to study for the ministry, in classes separate from the white students.

Begins Ministry

Lowery began his preaching career in at Nashville's Church of the Disciples, where he remained until At that time, prior to the Civil War, during Lincoln's election campaign, great unres