Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world.
Lois LowryRead
The man that I named the Giver passed along to the boy knowledge, history, memories, color, pain, laughter, love, and truth. Every time you place a book in the hands of a child, you do the same thing. It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things. [from her Newberry Award acceptance speech]
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books empower children by providing knowledge and choices, which can be both liberating and risky.
In this quote, Lois Lowry underscores the profound impact that reading has on a child's life. By equating the act of giving a child a book to the passing of wisdom, emotions, and experiences, she highlights how books open doors to new worlds and ideas, fostering independence and freedom of thought. Yet, she acknowledges the inherent risks of this freedom, suggesting that the journey of exploration through reading carries uncertainties, but ultimately, it enriches and expands a child's understanding of life.
Themes
BooksChildrenKnowledgeFreedomChoicesEducation
In practice
Example use cases
During a literacy program, we shared the quote to emphasize the importance of reading in children's lives.
More from Lois Lowry
All quotes →Ellen had said that her mother was afraid of the ocean, that it was too cold and too big. The sky was, too, thought Annemarie. The whole world was: too cold, too big. And too cruel.
Lois LowryRead
I always set out to tell a good story, to create a character that young people can relate to, place them in a situation that will be interesting, intriguing, eventually suspenseful. But what I find is that after I do that, then there are themes that emerge, which teachers can then use to provoke discussion and debate.
Lois LowryRead
If somebody takes the time, a: to read a book that I have written, and then to b: care about it enough to write me and ask questions, surely I owe them a response.
Lois LowryRead
I think when you've had success, publishers and reviewers and readers are willing to let you try something new if you've already proven yourself. They're excited about what you're doing, you have people interested in it, and actually waiting for it. It's empowering.
Lois LowryRead
Most people remember being 4 objectively, as if they're seeing a movie of a 4-year-old. But me, if you ask me to think about when I'm 4, I can feel myself being 4, and I am there, looking out through my 4-year-old eyes.
Lois LowryRead
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Books are the building blocks of civilization and a people without books are a people without history, a people with no story older than the tales of the oldest man or woman.
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