“I'm not terribly conversant with children's literature in general. I t...” — Lois Lowry Quote

I'm not terribly conversant with children's literature in general. I tend to read books for adults, being an adult.

Early on I came to realize something, and it came from the mail I received from kids. That is, kids at that pivotal age, 12, 13 or 14, they're still deeply affected by what they read, some are changed by what they read, books can change the way they feel about the world in general. I don't think that's true of adults as much.

When I wrote 'The Giver,' it contained no so-called 'bad words.' It was set, after all, in a mythical, futuristic, and Utopian society. Not only was there no poverty, divorce, racism, sexism, pollution, or violence in the world of 'The Giver'; there was also careful attention paid to language: to its fluency, precision, and power.

There will always be a place for bunnies to talk in rhyme, but that's not what I do.

I know I want to do something with kids and help them become better mentally, physically and emotionally. They're the future after we're gone. So we have to prepare kids to be adults.

All my adult life people have been helping me.

My writing process hasn't changed - it's is the same whether I'm working on a Y.A. novel or, as now, a new novel for adults. A lot of reading, a lot of research if the subject warrants it, a lot of sticky notes and scraps of paper - and get to work.

Living among society's outcasts and experiencing the brutality of America's prison system did more to set (or confirm) the direction of my adult life than living at Yale.