Walter Dean Myers

Subjects:

• Literature » Children's & Young Adult Literature
• Multicultural Studies » African Studies

Reviews:

• "Marler analyzes the life and works of the accomplished author. The first two chapters are devoted to a brief biography and the historical and cultural influences on Myers's writing. The remainder of the volume looks at his books, including comparisons of plots and characters as well as thematic development within each novel… Throughout the book, Marler emphasizes the importance of Myer's writings and their significance to teens facing socioeconomic challenges."
  —School Library Journal 3/1/2009
• "Marler offers personal stories from Myers's life that served as inspiration for his books and may also serve to inspire his young readers. She describes his life growing up with the Harlem family that adopted him as a toddler, the influence of his English teachers, the role that basketball played in keeping him from the temptations of the street, the impact of the Vietnam War, which claimed his brother's life, and his career as a children's book author. Marler addresses the history of African Americans as a way of contextualizing his life and illuminating his historical fiction and nonfiction for young readers. Also in this volume are a series foreward, a preface, a bibliography, and an index."
  —MultiCultural Review 3/1/2009

Table of Contents:

• PREFACE
  CHAPTER ONE HIS LIFE SO FAR: HARLEM, FAMILY, ENGLISH TEACHERS, AND BASKETBALL
  CHAPTER TWO THE GIVER THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
  CHAPTER THREE A HAPPY ACCIDENT: WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS
  CHAPTER FOUR BASKETBALL AND THE GAME OF LIFE
  CHAPTER FIVE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
  CHAPTER SIX THE LIVING ROOM WAR FALLEN ANGELS (1988)
  CHAPTER SEVEN ITS A JUNGLE OUT THERE Monster (1999)
  CHAPTER EIGHT DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE? SHOOTER (2004)
  WALTER DEAN MYERS: AWARDS
  WALTER DEAN MYERS: BIBLIOGRAPHY
  WORKS CITED

PDF Catalogs:
Greenwood Spring Reference 2008.pdf	Greenwood School and Public Library Reference Spring 2008.pdf
Greenwood Literature Spring 2008.pdf	Greenwood School and Public Library Reference 2009.pdf