The Giver Movie Tie-in Edition: A Newbery Award Winner (Giver Quartet, 1)

I love this book. I used to teach resource. I used The Giver in my curriculum. It kept the interest of the students who have difficulty reading. What a mind bending surprise and depth of discussion about wisdom and responsibility.

The Giver is a children’s literature novel written by Lois Lowry. It takes place in a monotone, perfect world that shuns individuality. Jonas, the hero that is followed throughout the story, begins to notice the true imperfection of the world he lives in. He is accompanied by a man who is only known as “the Giver.” It's amazing what The Giver has to offer the children that have read it. It is a book that is, in a way, simple in its complexity. Simple in the aspect that a child can be exposed to it and still understand the basic plot and foundation; Complex in the aspect that an adult can be exposed to it and be able to analyze the true meaning and theme that is hidden beneath its surface. Jonas really questions what individuality truly is. The truth is uncovered to him by the Giver that humans are afraid of being subjected to peculiar situations. When Jonas talks about releasing one of the twins that were recently born with the Giver, he exclaims, “Well, they can't have two identical people around! Think how confusing it would be!" (182). It would be easier for one of the twins to be released then for everyone to be possibly subjected to awkward situations such as mixing up two people that look identical to each other. Another example for this theme would be how everyone is required to accept one another's apologies. The thought behind this is that if someone does not accept your apology, it can lead to future skirmishes. No body likes to be caught in a situation where they are trying to mend a relationship between two people, so it's easier for everyone to be uniform and friendly. It is more comfortable. Comfortable is a key element in this novel. Lowry does an amazing job of exposing human nature. Everyone hates being singled out, put in awkward situations, and just simply being different. By making everyone uniform, same number of people in the house, we all act the same, wear the same clothes, it minimizes suffering. In no way can suffering be totally and utterly eliminated, there will still be things that irritates people individually. What Lowry enforces through her protagonist Jonas is that if there is minimal suffering, then there is minimal happiness. No one is truly depressed, but no one is truly happy either. When having dinner with his family and everyone was sharing their emotions of the day, Jonas had experienced sadness first hand, and realized that all the “emotions” everyone spoke of during dinner were fleeting feelings that held no true meaning: “But now Jonas had experienced real sadness. He had felt grief. He knew there was no quick comfort for emotions like those” (166). Jonas came to the conclusion that no one truly new what raw emotion was, only himself and the Giver. No body could truly love, hate, or feel sadness. He began to realize how empty his society profoundly was. In conclusion, this novel was amazing. Lowry does a fantastic job by setting a sober tone for a novel that explores the theme of humanity's natural fear of individuality. Though there is no true physical conflict, the true problem lies within the society itself. While a very good book for adults, it is also a true masterpiece for its intended audience, children. If ever taught in a classroom setting, a fun way to incorporate the book into activities would be for children to pair up into groups and assign them to create a utopia of their own. A way to expand this assignment would be for the children to write their own dystopian fiction with plot, character, and theme. Questions such as: Can there ever be a true utopia? Are humans naturally flawed, leading to the conclusion that all society is imperfect? Can be addressed. This can be also seen as a lesson plan, incorporating other books that are similar to The Giver, such as The City of Ember, written by Jeanne DuPrau, and The Roar, written by Emma Clayton. Both which are dystopian themed novels that are aimed toward children. If students are having difficulty interpreting the text or understanding it two great sites would be: randomhouse or loislowry.com. For teachers who need lesson plans or activities that pair well with the novel these two sites are very informative: englishunitplans or webenglishteacher.com. This book was overall incredible and I'm glad that I was able to read it, even if it is classified as children’s literature!Works CitedLowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.

Yesterday, I took a road trip with my two daughters to get pick up my 88 year-old grandmother, who will be staying with us through the holiday season. At 5 and 9 years-old, my usual audiobook choices were clearly not an option. So, I found myself listening to some books that definitely are not my usual type, yet again.With over 4 1/2 hours in the car each way, we were able to finish 2 audiobooks from start to finish. By pure coincidence, they both ended up being authored by Lois Lowry. I have never been more engaged in a children's book than I was during this road trip. I was completely lost in these stories, as were my children.The first book that we listened to was 'The Giver'. What a captivating, albeit bleak, fictional world Ms. Lowry has created! I was absolutely spellbound by her storytelling.Set in the future, Jonas lives in a community that has traded their humanity for the illusion of safety. They block anything that would trigger the emotional highs and lows that define a person's life as we now know it. They don't experience the heartache of loss, but they never give in to the joys of life either. They are shells, robotic in their day to day existence and devoid of emotion.Although this is a children's book, it had a feeling eerily similar to George Orwell's '1984'. Independent thinking was non-existent. People "confessed" their thoughts, dreams and rule violations. The presence of the omnipresent leaders in their homes, ruling their lives, was pervasive and all-powerful.Jonas is getting ready to experience the ceremony of 12. This particular ceremony is an important one in the community, a rite of passage into adulthood. It is at this ceremony that each child is assigned their job within the community. They will remain in their assigned role until they are no longer productive and they are "released".Unlike the other children, Jonas is unsure of his calling within the community. He doesn't feel a clear draw to one occupation or another. He is worried of what the future holds for him and he is beginning to notice some unusual things that others do not.Jonas is ultimately assigned a very prestigious role within the community. It is perhaps the most important role in the community, but comes with a tremendous burden. He cannot share his experiences with anyone other than the man that he will be replacing, the current "receiver". As his training progresses, Jonas comes to question everything that he has ever been taught.From beginning to end, this book held my rapt attention. It was beautifully written and thought provoking. 'The Giver' serves as a cautionary tale to the human race, warning of what can become when we censor our very emotions and blot out all of the differences that make us unique individuals.There was plenty of action and suspense along the way. It was also a much more emotional read than I had anticipated. I'll never forget the look on my 9 year-old's face when some of the true meanings of different phrases, like "released", truly sunk in. Don't even get me going on baby Gabe! Luckily, I think most of that went over the head of my 5 year-old.Overall, I thought that this was a spectacular book! It is one that I would not have normally read, but I'm so glad that I did. I can only hope that the lessons learned will resonate with my daughter and the other children that read it. An all-around great story! I'll probably download the next books in the series for our next road-trip to take "Nana" home after the holidays.

Es para mi hijo se lo pidieron en la escuela lego antes de tiempo en excelentes condiciones gracias 🥰🙌

The way Lois slowly introduces us into her idyllic and yet cruel world is simply amazing. The end of the book has left me completely moved and flabbergasted.

Good story and interesting ending.

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What a wonderful classic….. you need a book like this to pinch you once in a while…. Simple things that we take for granted- music, colour, art….. importance of love, time shared together …… all these things that daily pressure of efficient life kills from us…… read the book it’s unputdownable