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" We need to tell young people that America was built by men and women of all colors and that the future of this country is dependent on the participation of all of our citizens. "
Walter Dean Myers
Need
Women
Future
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" As a kid I didn't see black cowboys on the screen. What that said to me was that there were things I couldn't do or be because of my color. What we see others like us do gives us permission to expand our own horizons. "
Walter Dean Myers
Color
Black
See
" I know what falling off the cliff means. I know from being considered a very bright kid to being considered like a moron and dropping out of school. "
Walter Dean Myers
Like
Bright
Falling
" There is a crisis involving reading in certain communities. "
Walter Dean Myers
Crisis
Certain
Reading
" Fifty percent of all meaningful education takes place in the home. What do you share with your child? You share your interests. I was a book person. I read with my son. My wife is an artist. She dragged his little butt around to museums. He's an illustrator of children's books. "
Walter Dean Myers
Children
Education
Home
" I had seen the ballet of 'Swan Lake' as a child but it was as an adult, when I saw a production featuring Erik Bruhn, that I first noticed how significant a part the ever-present threat of violence played. This juxtaposition of great beauty and grace with a backdrop of pure evil stayed with me for years. "
Walter Dean Myers
Me
Grace
Great
" I'll never live to write all the stories I have in my head. "
Walter Dean Myers
Never
Live
Head
" I like people who take responsibility for their lives. "
Walter Dean Myers
Responsibility
People
Like
" When my family fell apart, it was such a troubled part of my life... I think I could understand what I was going through, but I didn't have the vocabulary for it. "
Walter Dean Myers
My Life
Think
Understand
" So many organizations have a mentoring arm, but they don't really do it. Their idea of mentoring a kid is giving them general advice. But what they need to do is read with children. "
Walter Dean Myers
Children
Giving
Advice
" Growing up in Harlem, I had the chance to practice with a Negro League team. At fifteen, I was over six feet tall and a fair athlete, but my skills didn't come close to some of the players I saw. "
Walter Dean Myers
Feet
Growing Up
Practice
" We need to tell kids flat out: reading is not optional. "
Walter Dean Myers
Need
Kids
Flat
" There have been two areas identified as being vital to reading - and that's for very young children between the ages of one month and five years and for teenagers. I've been trying to find ways of approaching both groups. "
Walter Dean Myers
Children
Trying
Young
" I am very much interested in getting parents to read to children, and trying to get people mentoring children. If I can do both I'll be happy. "
Walter Dean Myers
Parents
Children
Happy
" My dad was a janitor for U.S. Radium Corporation, and he stayed there for 37 years. So he didn't read. "
Walter Dean Myers
Years
Read
Janitor
" America believes what's good for us is good for the world. It's very difficult to understand that that's not necessarily true. "
Walter Dean Myers
Understand
World
America
" I talk to myself out loud at times, and feel embarrassed when people overhear me. "
Walter Dean Myers
Loud
Me
Myself
" I remember one time being told I could not play in a basketball game at the College of William and Mary because I was black, even though I was playing with a United States Army team. "
Walter Dean Myers
College
Army
Team
" There were two very distinct voices going on in my head and I moved easily between them. One had to do with sports, street life and establishing myself as a male... The other voice, the one I had from my street friends and teammates, was increasingly dealing with the vocabulary of literature. "
Walter Dean Myers
Sports
Myself
Friends
" As a writer, I absorb stories, allow them to churn within my own head and heart - often for years - until I find a way of telling them that fits both my time and temperament. "
Walter Dean Myers
Time
Own
My Own
" I would enjoy having dinner with the poet/playwright Derek Walcott. "
Walter Dean Myers
Enjoy
Having
Would
" I read a lot of comic books and any kind of thing I could find. One day, a teacher found me. She grabbed my comic book and tore it up. I was really upset, but then she brought in a pile of books from her own library. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. "
Walter Dean Myers
Best
Day
Teacher
" After so many books and so many years of writing, I have a good idea of my strengths and weaknesses. I love the process of writing and, if I allowed myself, I would write far too much every day. One weakness which I've struggled to overcome is my tendency to having my characters ruminate for pages. "
Walter Dean Myers
Love
Good
Day
" Each generation seems to invent its own reasons for war. "
Walter Dean Myers
Reasons
Own
Generation
" Children have adopted a consumerist attitude - I dare you to entertain me. "
Walter Dean Myers
Children
You
Me
" As a child I wanted to be a professional athlete or lawyer. "
Walter Dean Myers
Athlete
Professional
Child
" I admired the work ethic of the cowboys I read about. The idea of these young people taking on this much responsibility was impressive. I would like modern readers to have an appreciation of this. "
Walter Dean Myers
Like
Appreciation
Work
" I live intimately with my characters before starting a book. I cut out pictures of them for my wall. I do time lines for each major character and a time line for the entire novel: What is going on in the world as my characters struggle with their problems? "
Walter Dean Myers
Book
Time
Struggle
" I was raised in Harlem. I never found a book that took place in Harlem. I never had a church like mine in a book. I never had people like the people I knew. People who could not find their lives in books and celebrated felt bad about themselves. I needed to write to include the lives of these young people. "
Walter Dean Myers
Church
Place
Find
" I think it's difficult for young people to acknowledge being smart, to knowledge being a reader. I see kids who are embarrassed to read books. They're embarrassed to have people see them doing it. "
Walter Dean Myers
Doing
People
Knowledge
" I write in a small office at home. "
Walter Dean Myers
I Write
Home
Office