Walter Dean Myers is an African American author who writes young adult literature. He is a New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty books for children and young adults. He mainly writes about urban youth struggles and African American teens. Following his success with young adult literature, Myers has branched out to works of nonfiction including topics of black history. In 2012, he was named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Appointees travel around the country for a two-year term and travel around the country promoting the importance of fiction and nonfiction in the lives of young people. Walter Dean Myers theme for his term is “Reading is not optional.”
I really loved your Author Presentation because I found it to be very informative! I had never heard of Walter Dean Meyers, and from the information you gave about him in the powerpoint, I feel that I should have heard about him sooner. I think that Meyers is definitely a key author that educators need to know about because of all of his contributions to literature with the various themes that he writes about. I definitely think that Meyers is an author that is contributing to teaching important topics in history throughout his texts, and I believe that is very important in our education system today. However, I do wonder how I could use his writing in an early childhood classroom. I definitely think that this is something that should not be walked around in early childhood education, but I also think that students need a certain maturity to understand certain concepts that are brought up in Meyers books. What is a good compromise?
I enjoyed your author presentation. I remember reading Monster when I was in middle school. I find it very interesting that Meyers is actually a product of the environment that he chooses to write about. I had no idea that he was a foster child in Harlem, as well as, a high school drop out. I think his background is what really gives his work depth. He works would be great to use in middle school and high school. These books are windows in to other social cultures and allow readers to experience struggles that they would not normally have. I do think before introducing his work to students, teachers should assess the classroom for their maturity level. What do you think?