1. Walter Dean Myers
Author Presentation
Selena Perez
Feb. 15, 2013

2. About the author
• Born in West Virginia and raised by foster
parents in Harlem.
• High school drop out and joined the army at the
age of 17.
• Wrote about the most difficult period in his life,
his teen years.
• Books are mainly Realistic Fiction but also
writes Poetry and Nonfiction.

3. Awards
• Two Newbery Honors
• Five Coretta Scott King Awards
• Inaugural recipient of the Coretta Scott
King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime
Achievement
• National Ambassador for Young People's
Literature.

4. List of published works
• Ida B. Wells, Let the Truth Be Told
(2009)
• Here In Harlem: Poems in Many Voices
(2004)
• Shooter (2004)
• Monster (1999)
• Slam! (1998)
• Scorpions (1988)
• Hoops (1981)
• Autobiography of My Dead Brother
(2005)

5. Themes
• Inner-City Life
• Urban Youth Struggles
• Violence
• Bullying
• African American Culture
• Peer Pressure
• Overcoming Adversity

6. Writerly techniques
• Narration
• First-Person P.O.V
• Imagery
• Powerful Diction
• Tone
• Similes and metaphors
• Relatable language

7. Snippet of
“Monster”

8. Teacher Resources/content Connection
• Compose poems inspired by Walter Dean Myers poem: Summer
Teacher resource: http://www.crsd.org/Page/ 762
• Monster is presented in the form of a film script, written by the main
character. Discuss how this format affects the story and why the
author may have selected this writing style. Have students write a
story using a similar format. Some options include:
Have students rewrite a story as a screenplay from a character's
point of view. Younger students could select a favorite children's
story or picture book for this activity, while older students may
choose their favorite novel.
Ask students to write an autobiographical story. Have students
first list interesting events from their lives, and then write a true
or fictional account based on the facts.
Have students share their stories by creating a class book or reading
them aloud.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-
activities/walter-dean-myers-author-20670.html
• Social studies connection: Geographic studies of the setting and
looking at population topics dealing with minority and integration.
http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/slam.htm