''Anastasia Krupnik'' (1979) is the first book of a popular series of middle-grade

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s by

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of several books for children and young adults, including ''The Giver Quartet,'' ''Number the Stars'', and ''Rabble Starkey.'' She is known for writing a ...

, depicting the title character's life as a girl "just trying to grow up." Anastasia deals with everyday problems such as popularity, the wart on her thumb or the new arrival of her little brother, Sam. The book is written in episodic fashion, each chapter self-contained with minimal narrative link to the others. At the end of each chapter is a list written by Anastasia, listing her likes and dislikes, showing the character's growth and development through the story. The ''Anastasia Krupnik'' series was 29th on the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

's "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000" for reasons such as references to beer, ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine, and a casual reference to a character wanting to kill herself. The series was also criticized because one novel of the series featured Anastasia replying to a personal ad and lying about her age and her life to an older man; however, the two never have any romantic experiences and when they meet, the man has no idea Anastasia is the woman to whom he had been writing. The book was adapted for the stage by Meryl Friedman and premiered "in 1998 at Chicago's Lifeline Theatre, where Friedman was a founder and producing director". It has been performed many places elsewhere, including

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

in 1999 and

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

in 2013.

Books

* ''Anastasia Krupnik,'' published October 24, 1979 by

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Financial Dist ...

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) annually recognizes one new American children's book selected by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren. It was inaugurated in 1957. The award is co-spon ...

Nominee (1981) ** California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Intermediate (1984) * ''Anastasia Again!,'' published October 15, 1982 by

Yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

Nominee (1983) **

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

for Children's Fiction Finalist (1983) * ''Anastasia at Your Service'', published December 1, 1983 by

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

Nominee (1984) * ''Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst,'' published June 1st 1985 by

Yearling Books Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

* ''Anastasia on Her Own'', published June 1st 1986 by

* ''Anastasia Has the Answers,'' published April 28, 1986 by

Nominee (1988) * ''Anastasia's Chosen Career,'' published October 26, 1987 by

* ''Anastasia at This Address,'' published July 1, 1992 by

* ''Anastasia, Absolutely,'' published October 30, 1995 by

References

External links

* {{Lois Lowry 1979 American novels Novels by Lois Lowry