Wilson College
| www.wilson.edu
Chambersburg, PA May 18, 2008 |
Lois Lowry, award-winning author of 34 books of fiction for children and young adults, including The Willoughbys. |
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Lowry’s books, which have been translated into 17 languages, have earned her such honors as the Regina Medal, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, Mark Twain Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Bank Street College Award, National Jewish Book Award and Chicago Tribune Book Award. She has twice received the Newbery Medal, given each year for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature by an American author, and has twice been the United States nominee for the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Several of her books have been adapted for film and stage. In 1996, Lowry’s award-winning novel, “The Giver,” was chosen by the children of Belgium and France as their favorite book. |
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"I don't know what your memories of Wilson College will be. There were classes you loved and others you hated; and friends you made, and someone with whom you had a misunderstanding; and there were times when you despaired and times when you triumphed. And here you sit today, and all of that has become part of you. And here, too, an important part of who you are, are your parents. I wish (my mother) were here today, on the campus of her own college, to hear me say that she gave good advice, and it's the advice that I want to pass along to you. Fifteen years ago, I dedicated the book called The Giver, to “all the children to whom we entrust the future." Those children were you. I need you – today's world needs you, starting now – to stand up straight. Speak clearly. It is going to make a difference." |
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