Books with author Walter Dean/ Myers

A powerful novel of drugs, violence—and second chances. Dope Sick, from two-time Newbery Honor winner and five-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Walter Dean Myers, belongs on reading lists beside Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and Dear Martin by Nic Stone.A drug deal goes south and a cop has been shot. Lil J's on the run. And he's starting to get dope sick. He'd do anything to change the last twenty-four hours, and when he stumbles into an abandoned building, it actually might be possible. . . .Elements of magical realism intensify this harrowing story about drug use, violence, perceptions of reality, and second chances.This ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers earned multiple starred reviews and was described as "vivid," "nuanced," and "intriguing." Booklist said: “Myers’ narrative strategy is so inherently dramatic that it captures his readers’ attentions and imaginations, inviting not only empathy but also thoughtful discussion.”Walter Dean Myers was a New York Times bestselling author, Printz Award winner, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, two-time Newbery Honor recipient, and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Maria Russo, writing in the New York Times, called Myers "one of the greats and a champion of diversity in children’s books well before the cause got mainstream attention."

This New York Times bestselling novel from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial.Presented as a screenplay of Steve's own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives. Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story that was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist.Monster is now a major motion picture called All Rise and starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Nas, and A$AP Rocky.The late Walter Dean Myers was a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, who was known for his commitment to realistically depicting kids from his hometown of Harlem.

Newbery and Coretta Scott King award-winning author Walter Dean Myers's baseball story THE JOURNAL OF BIDDY OWENS is now available in paperback, with an exciting repackaging!Seventeen-year-old Biddy Owens is part of the Birmingham Black Barons baseball team and dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. However, in 1948 most black players can only play for the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson has just recently integrated and is playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but the white owners are reluctant to add too many blacks to their rosters. The Birmingham Black Barons are some of the best players in the league. But as they travel around playing ball, Biddy realizes that not everyone is ready for blacks and whites to play on the same team. Can Biddy prove he's good enough to be part of the game his loves, no matter what color his skin is?

New Ebook Bonus Content:-Book Group Discussion Questions-Q&A with screenwriter John Ballard-Excerpt from Hoops-Excerpt from 145th Street-Excerpt from On a Clear DayWhen Lonnie Jackson leaves Harlem to take a basketball scholarship at a midwestern college, he knows he must keep his head straight and his record clean. That's the only way he'll have a chance of making it to the pros someday.But his street smarts haven't prepared him for the pressures of tough classes, high-stakes college ball, and the temptation to fix games for local gamblers. Everyone plays by a whole new set of rules -- including Sherry, who's determined to be a track star. Her independence attracts Lonnie, but their on-again, off-again relationship is driving him crazy.Lonnie has one year to learn how to make it as a "college man." It's his outside shot at a bright future. Does he have what it takes?

An inspiring biography of Muhammad Ali from the legendary Walter Dean Myers, reissued under Scholastic Focus for a new generation.From his childhood in the segregated South to his final fight with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali never backed down. He was banned from boxing during his prime because he refused to fight in Vietnam. He became a symbol of the antiwar movement -- and a defender of civil rights. As "The Greatest," he was a boxer of undeniable talent and courage. He took the world by storm -- only Ali could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!"Muhammad Ali: Olympic gold medalist, former heavyweight champion, and one of the most influential people of all time.

In New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers’s final novel, he delivers a gripping story based on the life of a real dancer known as “Master Juba,” who lived in the nineteenth century.This engaging historical novel follows the meteoric rise of an immensely talented young black dancer, William Henry Lane, who influenced today’s tap, jazz dance, and step. With meticulous and intensive research, Walter Dean Myers has brought to life Juba’s story.The novel includes photographs, maps, and other images from Juba’s time, as well as an afterword from Walter Dean Myers’s wife, Constance Myers, about the writing process of Juba!

Slam is a very good book that shows how a kid from the streets that has a talent can rise from adversity and how his struggles off the court can effect him on the court. It can also show a child that there are awards if you make the right decisions in life. That if you put your heart and soul into anything they can become successful. Walter Dean Myers writes wonderfully. You feel as if you were on the court with Slam during games and that you can feel the pain that he goes through off the court.

An ALA Notable Children’s Book from the award-winning author of Monster in which “wit, sensitivity, and insight [are combined] to create this funny, fast-paced story about three orphaned children and the Elks, a Little League baseball team” (Publishers Weekly). T.J., his younger brother, Moondance, and Mop—Miss Olivia Parrish—grew up together in the same orphanage. Now T.J. and Moondance have been adopted, and Mop has to find a family before the orphanage closes and “leftover” kids are sent away. Mop hopes that if she can play catcher for the Elks, the Little League baseball team that her friends have joined, the coach will be so impressed that he and his wife will adopt her. It’s going to take a lot of teamwork for her, T.J, and little Moondance to make their dreams come true!

"Visionary. This book should be in every reader's hands." –JACQUELINE WOODSON, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl DreamingYoung heroes decide that they are not too young or too powerless to change their world in this gripping, futuristic young adult novel by the New York Times bestselling author of the Printz Award–winning Monster. It is 2035. Teens, armed only with their ideals, must wage war on the power elite. Dahlia is a Low Gater: a sheep in a storm, struggling to survive completely on her own. The Gaters live in closed safe communities, protected from the Sturmers, mercenary thugs. And the C-8, a consortium of giant companies, control global access to finance, media, food, water, and energy resources—and they are only getting bigger and even more cutthroat. Dahlia, a computer whiz, joins forces with an ex-rocker, an ex-con, a chess prodigy, an ex-athlete, and a soldier wannabe. Their goal: to sabotage the C-8. But how will Sayeed, warlord and terrorist, fit into the equation? Walter Dean Myers was a prolific author for young people, writing over one hundred books and receiving every major award in the field of children's literature during his lifetime. He was the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature during 2012 and 2013.Praise for ON A CLEAR DAY“Walter Dean Myers was such a visionary. On a Clear Day is at once historical and futuristic, thoughtful and thought-provoking. It should be in every reader's hands. It's a book for anyone who has ever given thought to our own future and the futures of those coming behind us. Stunning.” –JACQUELINE WOODSON, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming*"A clarion call from a beloved, much-missed master." –Kirkus Reviews, Starred "In his last book, Myers has turned his thoughtful attention to matters of pressing global importance and issued an implicit challenge to his teen readers to become involved and make a difference. It makes for a stirring valedictory." –Booklist "Published posthumously, this is an angry story, demonstrating again Myers's acute social conscience." –Horn Book "Worth serious YA consideration." –The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Lockdown is the powerful tale of fourteen-year-old Reese Anderson, who has spent 22 months in a tiny cell at a “progress center.” Living in fear and isolation, Reese begins looking within himself to find a way out of the prison system.Acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers offers an honest story about finding a way to make it without getting lost in the shuffle. Told with compassion and truth, Lockdown is also a compelling first-person read that "could resonate with teens on a dangerous path."*When I first got to Progress, it freaked me out to be locked in a room and unable to get out. But after a while, when you got to thinking about it, you knew nobody could get in, either.It seems as if the only progress that's going on at Progress juvenile facility is moving from juvy jail to real jail. Reese wants out early, but is he supposed to just sit back and let his friend Toon get jumped? Then Reese gets a second chance when he's picked for the work program at a senior citizens' home. He doesn't mean to keep messing up, but it's not so easy, at Progress or in life. One of the residents, Mr. Hooft, gives him a particularly hard time. If he can convince Mr. Hooft that he's a decent person, not a criminal, maybe he'll be able to convince himself.Walter Dean Myers was a New York Times bestselling author, Printz Award winner, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, two-time Newbery Honor recipient, and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Maria Russo, writing in the New York Times, called Myers "one of the greats and a champion of diversity in children’s books well before the cause got mainstream attention."*Kirkus

This thrilling basketball story from New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers is a strong choice for independent reading and sharing in the classroom. Thought-provoking and packed with court action, Game is a winner.Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to, because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run squarely into a pick. Coach has handed the ball to another player—Tomas, a new guy from Europe—and Drew won't let anyone disrespect his game. Just as his team makes the playoffs, Drew must come up with something big to save his fading college prospects. It's all up to Drew to find out just how deep his game really is."There’s plenty of basketball here, but, as in any good sports novel, more is going on than the sport; life is the game, and this is a sensitive portrait of a likable young man, his family, city and dreams." (Kirkus starred review)"In this story of a teen who dreams of making it big in the NBA, Myers returns to the theme that has dominated much of his serious fiction: How can young black urban males negotiate the often-harsh landscape of their lives to establish a sense of identity and self-worth? As always, Myers eschews easy answers." (School Library Journal)Walter Dean Myers was a New York Times bestselling author, Printz Award winner, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, two-time Newbery Honor recipient, and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Maria Russo, writing in the New York Times, called Myers "one of the greats and a champion of diversity in children’s books well before the cause got mainstream attention."