Walter Dean Myers

After writing more than one hundred books, it still amazes me that I have been lucky enough to spend most of my life doing what I truly love: writing. What makes a writer? The desire to tell a story, a love of language, an eye for detail, practice, practice, practice. How well should you know your characters? Do you need to outline before you write? How important is length? Now Walter Dean Myers, the new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature...

From Walter Dean Myers, the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, comes this 20-page one-act play. Tags is a look at life and death in New York City, complete with a shocking end. Four New York City teens are shot down in the prime of life. They move through limbo, re-creating their distinctive tags in a Harlem walk-up so that they can "live" forever. But what's the point? How can you think of living forever if you're already dead? Walter...

You can call me Mouse, 'cause that's my tag I'm into it all, everything's my bag my ace is Styx, he'll always do Add Bev and Sheri, and you got my crew...and a crew it is! For fourteen-year-old Mouse, this summer is anything but boring. His father, who checked out from the family eight years ago, is now trying to make a comeback as a dad. Beverly, a new girl from California, seems to like locking lips with the Mouse--but she seems to like other guys,...

Five devoted friends become landlords and try to make their Harlem neighborhood a better place to live. If you were looking for a real ghetto dump, you couldn't beat The Stratford Arms. There was Askia Ben Kenobi throwing karate chops upstairs, Petey Darden making booze downstairs, and Mrs. Brown grieving for Jack Johnson, who'd died for the third time in a month--and not a rent payer in the bunch. Still, when Paul Williams and the Action Group got...

Frederick Douglass was a self-educated slave in the South who grew up to become an icon. He was a leader of the abolitionist movement, a celebrated writer, an esteemed speaker, and a social reformer, proving that, as he said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." The story of one of America's most revered figures is brought to life by the text of award-winning author Walter Dean Myers and the sweeping, lush illustrations of artist Floyd...

After witnessing the annihilation of his people by El Muerte's legions, young Tarik undergoes the training which will enable him to destroy this fierce leader.

The opening line of this call and response style verse asks the question that forms the thread throughout – Blues, what you mean to me? In a magnificent collaboration of words, art, and song, a timeline of the blues is presented in a soulful reading and dramatic musical accompaniment that offers a compelling evocation of the blues experience. A Live Oak Media audio production.

Children and adults alike will cheer for this funny, uplifting story of a troublemaker who joins the school newspaper and discovers the power of words-and uses that power to make a positive difference in his community. Darnell Rock is an especially meaningful hero for African American boys who confront many of the same pressures that Darnell faces.