Synopses & Reviews
Rife with humor and personality, this very young middle grade novel has a classic old-fashioned feel and a package equipped with the makings of a modern classic. In Bless This Mouse, a very resilient and quirky colony of church mice fear yet another Great X (more than they fear cats!), but under Mouse Matriarch Hildegardes leadership, they band together and save themselves from impending doomeven if its just by the skin of their tails! Lois Lowry is no stranger to delighting middle grade audiences. Lowrys acclaimed Gooney Bird series was championed by School Library Journal as "[a] fine selection for beginning chapter book readers and as a read-aloud." Lemony Snicket gave The Willoughbys a starred review in Publishers Weekly, while Kirkus called it a "sparklingly smart satire." More recently published on our Spring 2010 list is Lowrys Birthday Ball with "wonderfully swirly, evocative, energetic character sketches by the fabulous Feiffer" (SLJ) which Booklist hailed "an original fairy tale with a decidedly comical twist" in its starred review.
Review
"The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable—impossible to put down; difficult to forget."
—The Horn Book
Review
"The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable--impossible to put down; difficult to forget." Horn Book
"The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable -- impossible to put down; difficult to forget." Horn Book Guide
Review
Award-winning author Lois Lowry will deliver 2011 The May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture
The Giver
1994 Newbery Medal Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book
ALA Best Book for Young Adults and ALA Notable Children's Book
"A powerful and provacative novel.”The New York Times
"Wrought with admirable skill -- the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel." Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
Number the Stars
1990 Newbery Medal Book
“A story of Denmark and the Danish people, whose Resistance was so effective in saving their Jews.”School Library Journal, starred
The Birthday Ball
"An original fairy tale with a decidedly comical twist." –Booklist, starred review
"Guaranteed to generate giggles and guffaws" –Kirkus
" . . . Feiffer's wiry ink illustrations paint the characters in offhand caricatures, adding to the merriment." –PW
The Willoughbys (Pub Date: 3/31/2008; Lifetime Sales: 83,860)
BESTSELLER LISTS
#9 The New York Times Children's Chapter Book List (8/03)
#5 The New York Times Children's Chapter Book List (7/27)
#13 Book Sense
The Heartland Indie Bestseller List, #14, Week ending July 17, 2008
"Lois Lowry...casts her noble and enviable shadow wide across the landscape of children's literature...here turns her quick, sly gaze to parody."Publishers Weekly, starred review by Lemony Snicket
"[S]parkingly smart satire."Kirkus, starred review
"The tone of this darkly dry pastiche is consistently witty, and it's chock-full of accessible parodic references to...classic children's texts...Lowry crafts a tidy plot." The Bulletin, starred review
"Great fun . . .sly humor and a certain deadpan zaniness give literary conventions an ironic twist, with hilarious results."--Booklist, starred review
Gooney the Fabulous "[Gooney Bird's] eccentric outfits and words of wisdom are peppered throughout to keep the story moving along while Thomas's characteristic black-and-white illustrations provide nice visuals. Full of new vocabulary words and information about fables . . . A must for Gooney Bird fans." --School Library Journal
Review
"Lowry, who has often turned to new genres and made them her own, now freely adopts certain conventions of the romantic fairy tale to create a fresh story buoyed by wry wit and occasional schoolyard humor. The many idiosyncratic characters are drawn with swift, sure strokes in both the writing and in Feiffer's inimitable ink drawings, notable for their economy and assurance of line as well as their pitch-perfect expression of personality, attitude, and emotion. An original fairy tale with a decidedly comical twist."and#160; and#8212;
Booklist, starred review
"Lowry uses her knack for cleverly turning familiar stories on their heads (last seen in The Willoughbys) in this tale about a princess who's utterly bored with privileged palace life...Throughout, Feiffer's wiry ink illustrations paint the characters in offhand caricatures, adding to the merriment. Employing elements from the "Prince and the Pauper" as well as ample doses of humor and slapstick, Lowry sets the stage for a rowdy denouement."and#160; and#8212;Publishers Weekly
"This is a captivating but gentle fairy tale with memorable characters and wonderfully swirly, evocative, energetic character sketches by the fabulous Feiffer."and#160; and#8212;School Library Journal
"In her clever fairy-tale reconstruction, Lowry transforms the traditional princess into a refreshingly egalitarian heroine with a mind of her own. The hilarious, original and truly loathsome suitors are aptly memorialized in Feifferand#8217;s spritely black-and-white caricature illustrations. Guaranteed to generate giggles and guffaws."and#160; and#8212;Kirkusand#160;Reviews
"A lighthearted concoction overflowing with wordplay and alliteration. . . . [Readers] will laugh themselves silly."and#160; and#8212;New York Times Book Review
"Lowry draws on wicked humor, sly wordplay and stock characters to propel this pleasantly predictable romp . . .[she] again proves her range."and#160; and#8212;San Francisco Chronicle
"Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry and acclaimed illustrator Jules Feiffer throw one not-to-be-missed party with The Birthday Ball."and#160; and#8212;Family Fun Magazine
"Feiffer's frenetic lines and distinctive caricatures maintain the offbeat tone while adding a charming quirkiness in their own right. Youngsters who like thier fair share of mischief will get a kick out of this fractured fairy tale either on their own or as a readaloud."and#160; and#8212;The Bulletin
"Happiness radiates out from the Birthday Ball, zings down to the village and up again. A great story when read aloud."and#160; and#8212;Chicago Tribune
Review
"This gently Christian piece with Rohmanns earnest pencil illustrations will please talking-animal fans"Kirkus
"An impeccably constructed, good-humored adventure filled with master plans, near disasters, and brave rescues, all gently frightening for readers even younger than the target audience. Lowry creates a cozy church environment of lenient sextons, disheveled organists, and skittish Altar Guild ladies, from a mouse's point-of-view. Fun and lighthearted."Publishers Weekly
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Review
"The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable—impossible to put down; difficult to forget."
—The Horn Book
(star) "“A story of Denmark and the Danish people, whose Resistance was so effective in saving their Jews.”—School Library Journal, starred review
Synopsis
This Newbery Medal Book describes how a ten-year-old Danish girl's bravery is tested when her best friend is threatened by Nazis in 1943.
Synopsis
As the German troops begin their campaign to -relocate- all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen's family takes in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
Winner of the 1990 Newbery Medal.
Synopsis
1990 Newbery Medal Winner
As the German troops begin their campaign to "relocate" all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen's family takes in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
Winner of the 1990 Newbery Medal.
Synopsis
The unforgettable Newbery Medal-winning novel from Lois Lowry. As the German troops begin their campaign to relocate all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen's family takes in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
A modern classic of historical fiction, Number the Stars has won generations of fans.
Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery. (School Library Journal)
Synopsis
A new paperback edition of Lois Lowrys Newbery Award-winning classic.
As the German troops begin their campaign to "relocate" all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansens family takes in Annemaries best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
With a new introduction by the author.
Synopsis
A resilient and quirky colony of church mice fears another Great X more than they fear cats. Under Mouse Mistress Hildegardes leadership, they save themselves from one danger after anothersometimes just by the skin of their tails! Can one ultimate act of bravery during the feast day of St. Francis get Father Murphy to bless these mice and keep them safe forever? Rife with humor and personality, this young middle-grade novel has an old-fashioned feel with the makings of a modern classic.
Synopsis
Princess Patricia Priscilla's sixteenth birthday is in one week. That means she has seven days before her birthday ball, and seven days before the moment when she must select a suitor to marry.
Oh, dear. Seven days is not a very long time, sixteen is not very old, and Princess Patricia Priscilla's prospective suitors consist of a dirty duke, a foppish prince, and foul-mouthed conjoined counts.
Princess Patricia Pricilla is not terribly optimistic about the whole affair.
And so, with her cat Delicious in tow, Princess Pat sneaks off to join the peasant children each day at the schoolhouse in hopes of finding out just what she's been missing before she must resign herself to a wretched future. But after meeting Fred, Nell, Liz the norphan, and a rather dreamy schoolmaster, Princess Pat wonders if perhaps the plans for her Birthday Ball might require one or two adjustments. . .
Synopsis
This 25th anniversary edition marks another milestone for the Newbery Medal-winning classic Number the Stars. By the author of The Giver, this remarkable work of historical fiction tells the profound story about a very brave ten-year-old Danish girl and how the Nazis threaten her Jewish best friend in the war-torn world of 1943.
Synopsis
Princess Patricia Priscilla is bored with her royal life and the excitement surrounding her sixteenth birthday ball. Doomed to endure courtship by three grotesquely unappealing noblemen, she escapes her fateand#8212;for a week. Disguised as a peasant, she attends the village school as the smart new girl, and#8220;Pat,and#8221; and attracts friends and the attention of the handsome schoolmaster. Disgusting suitors, lovable peasants, and the clueless king and queen collide at the ball, where Princess Patricia Priscilla calls the shots. What began as a cure for boredom becomes a chance for Princess Patricia Priscilla to break the rules and marry the man she loves.
Synopsis
A wry, dry, laugh-out-loud princess tale by the hilarious Lois Lowry, with illustrations by Pulitzer Prizeand#8211;winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer. Princess Patricia Priscilla is bored with her royal life and the excitement surrounding her sixteenth birthday ball. Doomed to endure courtship by three grotesquely unappealing noblemen, she adopts a peasant disguise and escapes her fateand#8212;for a week. In this tale of mistaken identity, creamed pigeons, and young love, the two-time Newbery medalist Lois Lowry compares princesses to peasants and finds them to be exactly the same in all the important ways.
About the Author
As the German troops begin their campaign to "relocate" all the Jews of Denmark, 10-year-old Annemarie Johansens's family takes in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and pretend she is part of the family.
Through Annemarie's eyes, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggle almost the entire Jewish population, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. A tale of an entire nation's heroism that reminds us there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
With a new introduction by the author."The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable--impossible to put down; difficult to forget." Horn Book
"The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable -- impossible to put down; difficult to forget." Horn Book GuideLois Lowry is known for her versatility and invention as a writer. She was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York, Pennsylvania, and Japan. After several years at Brown University, she turned to her family and to writing. She is the author of more than thirty books for young adults, including the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Readers Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels,Number the StarsandThe Giver. Her first novel,A Summer to Die, was awarded the International Reading Associations Childrens Book Award. Ms. Lowry now divides her time between Cambridge and an 1840s farmhouse in Maine. To learn more about Lois Lowry, see her website at www.loislowry.com