1. H810G Author Presentations Rose Wongsarnpigoon, Megan Chamberlain and Hui Xin Tan

3.  Born August 12, 1937-Martinsburg, West Virginia  Foster parents – Florence and Herbert Dean  Moved to Harlem (age 3)  Became a bookworm  Dropped out of high school (age 16)  Joined U.S. army

4.  1968: Won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest  1969: First published book—Where Does the Day Go?  1970s: BA at Empire State College  1977: Writing full time  Now lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.  Married, has 3 grown children  Has worked with son Christopher

5.  Over 80 titles  Range of Genres for varying ages  Picture books (illustrated by son, Christopher Myers)  Non-fiction  Fiction  Poetry  Memoirs

6.  Themes  Adolescence  The ‘hood’ inner city experience  Dealing with pressure  Sports  Drugs  Love  Family  Harlem Culture  Music

7.  Coretta Scott King Honor (Author)  ALA Best Book for Young Adults  ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers  Kentucky Bluegrass Award  ALA Best Book for Young Adults  ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

8.  Newbery Honor Books  Scorpions 1988  Somewhere in the Darkness 1993  Coretta Scott King Awards  The Young Landlords 1979  Motown and Didi: A Love Story 1984  Fallen Angels 1989  Now is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom 1991  Slam! 1997  Monster 2000

9.  Caldecott Honor Book  Harlem: A Poem (son Christopher Illustrated)  4 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards  Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award given by the American Library Association 1994  Recipient of the first annual Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, has been a versatile and prolific writer for more than 30 years

10.  http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/ http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/ His own website: bio, bibliography, reviews, news (appearances), contact info  http://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htmhttp://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm Biography and sample of Books  http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Myers-Walter-Dean.htmlhttp://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Myers-Walter-Dean.html Biography  http://dept.kent.edu/Virginiahamiltonconf/Myersbio.htmhttp://dept.kent.edu/Virginiahamiltonconf/Myersbio.htm Biography  http://www.bookpage.com/0102bp/walter_dean_myers.htmlhttp://www.bookpage.com/0102bp/walter_dean_myers.html Interview  http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/myersw Video Interview  http://www.webenglishteacher.com/myers.htmlhttp://www.webenglishteacher.com/myers.html Lesson plans to use with his books

11.  On reading: “Books took me, not so much to foreign lands and fanciful adventures, but to a place within myself that I have been constantly exploring ever since.” (http://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm)http://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm  On writing: “What I think I'm doing now is rediscovering the innocence of children that I once took for granted. I cannot relive it or reclaim it, but I can expose it and celebrate it in the books I write. I really like people—I mean, I really like people—and children are some of the best people I know.” (http://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm)http://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm