Lois Lowry's first children's book, "A Summer to Die", was published in 1977. In 1979 Lowry finished Anastasia Krupnik, the story of a quirky 10-year-old girl who wants to become a writer. During the 1980s, Anastasia reappeared in numerous books. In 1990 Lowry's novel, "Number the Stars", received the prestigious Newbery Medal. Four years later, Lowry won a second Newbery Medal for her most well-known book, "The Giver." More recently, Lois Lowry has been writing a lighthearted series for younger readers about a spirited second-grade girl named Gooney Bird Greene.