An Inside Look with Lois Lowry
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Sophie?
All of the (young) characters I create come from my own personal past: my memories of my own young self. They aren’t replicas of me, but they may in part be who I wish I had been when I was young. I was a painfully shy and introverted child. My fictional characters, including Sophie, tend to be more outgoing, more voluble.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
I admire both her loyalty and her doggedness, her refusal to admit defeat …. and eventually the grace with which she accepts the inevitable.
Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
No, I think she is true to her own self. She does some dumb things but learns from them…and in my opinion that is better than never doing any dumb things.
What do you think Sophie can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
Whatever difficult circumstances are portrayed in a book (and they always are, because that is what creates stories worth telling), some young readers will recognize their own circumstances. And they will feel a great relief that they are not alone. That other children have been through this, have survived, learned, and continued on. A sense of companionship on a difficult journey is the best thing a book can offer to a child.
How did you research Sophie and the circumstances she found herself in?
Ha. I didn’t need to research because I myself am 87 years old…probably 85 when I wrote this book. I knew firsthand what it was like to watch dear friends suffer from cognitive decline. As for the testing procedure…the Merck Manual was right there in my bookcase. In fact, after I was widowed when I was 74, I waited a couple of years, then applied to several retirement communities…got my name on their waiting lists. One required me to undergo the cognitive testing in order to do so. (I passed without a problem; but I remember the feeling of mild anxiety)
Do you and Sophie share any similarities?
Sophie and I have a lot in common: an insatiable curiosity, a wry sense of humor, a keen interest in other people, and a passionate wish to make things right.
What was the hardest scene to write about her?
Interesting question. I guess it was the middle of the book when she sits and listens to her friend's stories. It was hard to make her shut up. She’d been the center of my (the writer)’s attention, and presumably the reader’s. But then she had to step aside, to sit quietly, to ay attention. The focus changed. In fact, the scene was no longer about her, but about her friend. So I had to shift gears, as it were, and create a listening Sophie, a quiet Sophie, an attentive and caring one...
Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Sophie’s story takes place in a small neighborhood, one dead-end residential street with a few houses and families. It represents the classic “it takes a village.” Chocorua Street is Sophie’s village, and her biggest supporter. Even when she is at her most independent, most stubborn, all of those people…including her parents…are watching over her, caring about her and her feelings, helping her along.
Why do you think some young people can show such resilience, strength, and courage during difficult life situations; sometimes even more than the adults in their lives?
Ahhhh. It’s because they don’t know everything yet. They haven’t yet failed at things, haven’t learned yet about the hard outcomes. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. Optimism is still an option.
What do you think Sophie is doing at the present time?
Sophie hasn’t aged, really. She's new on the scene, and still working at growing up. But she has become wiser, more self-confident, more resilient. She’ll probably run for class president in high school, and maybe she’ll win.
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
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Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
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Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
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Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
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Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
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