Literature Guide: The Giver (Grades 4-8) [Paperback]

Scholastic Books (Author), Inc Scholastic (Author)

Book Description

Series: Scholastic Literature Guides | Publication Date: January 1, 1999

A complete guide to teaching the Newbery Award winner, The Giver. Includes an author biography, background information, summaries, thought-provoking discussion questions, as well as creative, cross-curricular activities and reproducibles that motivate students.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers. Ages 12-14.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 16 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590373587
• ISBN-13: 978-0590373586
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,758,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Giver: a book to teach and to learn, November 29, 1999

By 

me! - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literature Guide: The Giver (Grades 4-8) (Paperback)

I picked up the Giver because I had been a long time fan of Lowry's other books and stories.

I was intruigued by its well written timelessnes, exploring the workings of a society created to be pleasent for all who dwell within it. There is a cure for anything that ails: an answer for all problems; it has a social order that is balanced, with healing, and keeps everyone happy.

Reading it as an adult, I was pleased to see that most of the words and ideas were for young adults and that words and concepts that may have been unfamiliar were definable from the context, or asked of an adult (I recommend parents read this book as well, your child will have questions).

This book, especially if shared among a group, or even just a parent/child unit, will spark good discussions about serious life questions, which, in turn, will help promote emotional growth in the child(ren) and/or adults.

Yes, I laughed, yes, I cried. It has a sadness and a joy permeating it, and will be a learning tool in my household for the next generations.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How te Giver made me feel, March 31, 2000

By 

Kandi Meadors (Ashtabula, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literature Guide: The Giver (Grades 4-8) (Paperback)

This book was great. It has a lot of feelings in it. I liked how it was mixed up with sad and happy feelings. I think that it was sort of awkward because of how the town was and how everyone lived. I wonder what the author was thinking of when he wrote this.

4.0 out of 5 stars The choices we make, February 24, 2004

By 

Becca (Claremont NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literature Guide: The Giver (Grades 4-8) (Paperback)

This book is excellent. It explores the futuristic society in which twelve year old Jonas lives. The story is an eye opening experience. It will make you realize just how many choices you do have. The book overall is very good. It is full of symbols, but definetly not over complicated. The ending of the book is very unclear. The book leaves you to pick your own interpretation. Which can be good if you like that. I personally like the ending to be decisive. I want to know what happens to the characters.