The story has been told before in a variety of forms—Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" comes to mind—but not, to my knowledge, for children. It's well worth telling, especially by a writer of Lowry's great skill. If it is exceedingly fragile—if, in other words, some situations do not survive that well-known suspension of disbelief—well, so be it. "The Giver" has things to say that cannot be said too often, and I hope there will be many, many young people who will be willing to listen.