Bought at Goodwill to read and release in the wild. This appears to be a signed copy; it is inscribed "for Elizabeth / Lois Lowry" on the title page.

I completely understand why this book is part of the curriculum of many schools, and also why so many school districts have fought to have it banned. It jolts you out of the complacency of your assumptions and makes you think.

In her Newbery Award acceptance speech, Lois Lowry said:

"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."

I can remember pushing open that gate as a child, and it's wonderful to find a book as an adult that still affects you that way. You can read her whole speech .here.

When my niece heard I had this autographed copy of The Giver, she insisted on having it, even though her name is not Elizabeth; it is now entrusted to her.

Niece No. 2 got a personally autographed copy of "The Giver" for her high-school graduation ... FOUR YEARS AGO. She did some cleaning recently and decided she could liberate this from her bookshelf, so it is ready to travel again at long last. Perhaps it will find its "Elizabeth."

Little Free Library #1322 received this book in their library today from a fellow BookCrosser -- thank you!

Currently available in our Little Free Library.