Lois Lowry has been writing fiction for more than 35 years. She’s created tales of dystopian societies that continue to trigger parental outrage, but she’s also produced fits of giggles from middle readers tickled by Gooney Bird Greene’s antics.

Dancing has swept American popular culture, from TV shows such as “Glee” and “So You Think You Can Dance” to “High School Musical” productions on the stage and screen.

In our changing world, where images from around the globe come to us from all directions, diversity is the norm rather than the exception. It is hard to imagine a world where nothing diverges or varies, but such a world exists in Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award-winning novel “The Giver.”