* Born March 20, 1937 in Honolulu, Hawaii

* Moved to New York, Pensylvania, Rhode Island, etc. as her father was a dentist in the military

* One of three children (older sister named Helen and younger brother named Jon)

* Wrote her first book A Summer to Die about her sister's premature death and how a family copes with loss

* Married at age 19 to a military officer

* Had two daughters and two sons

* Divorced at age 40

* Her oldest son - a fighter pilot - passed away in the cockpit of a warplane

* Received the Newbery Medal award for both Number the Stars and The Giver

* Says most of her writing deals with the importance of human connections