By:

Dalton Wademan

WALTER DEAN MYERS

Walter’s Childhood

• Walter was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia on Thursday, August 12, 1937.

• At birth his name was Walter Milton Myers but at the age of 3, for an unknown reason, he was given to a man named Herbert Dean who resided in Harlem.

Walter’s Childhood

• Walter was raised in Harlem by Herbert and his wife Florence. They both loved and cared for him

• In his young ages his life was centered around the neighborhood and church. • Walter along with all the other kids was smart but didn’t do very well in

school

Walter’s Childhood

• Walter continued school until high school when he dropped out and joined the army on his 17th birthday.– Walter did go back and graduate from Stuyvesant High

• Walters has always loved basketball. He says that he sometimes would lie in bed thinking about games he played. Sometimes he thinks about what would have happened if he had been to good enough to play college ball and then go into the NBA.

On the Job

• While in high school, Walters teacher pointed out that he was a great writer. She advised him that no matter what to always keep writing. She would tell him “It’s what you do.”

• Walter never really knew what that meant until he was working construction in New York and remembered those words. He began writing at night about his difficult teen years. He thought to himself “That’s what I do.”

Awards

• 2000 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Literature for Young Adults

• Jane Addams Children's Book Award • Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to

young adult literature • Two-time Newbery Honor recipient • Five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award • Four-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Honor • Two-time National Book Award Finalist

Some of his most famous books

• Slam!• Monster

• Autobiography of My Dead Brother• Bad Boy; a Memoir• Here in Harlem• Shooter

Walter’s Works

• Walters has written over 50 book!• It's a hard life sometimes and the biggest

temptation is to let how hard it is be an excuse to weaken”

Works Cited

• http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/• http://

www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/walter-dean-myers