Imagine a kid having their father leave them, their mother dying when they are three years old, having a speech problem, and being a highschool dropout at the age of seventeen. Who would ever come over all of this to become successful in the real world? Walter Dean Myers would to shape himself into someone for African-American children to look up to, to show there is a way out. Writing more than one hundred books about African-Americans and Juveniles helped him be shown as an author that speaks out on equality for African Americans. His own life impacted what he wrote about and his message is there is a way out for young African-Americans. With his speech difficulties and troubles growing up, Walter Dean Myers brought his way into African-American and Juvenile literature to show the possibilities that exist for younger …show more content…
and Monster are two well-written books by Walter Dean Myers, with both involving young African-American teenagers. Slam!, is about a young African-American basketball prodigy who has to make good decisions in his life when the people around him aren’t. He writes about this as it is very relatable to African-Americans growing up in a awful neighborhood to help show that where you live doesn’t correlate with how successful you become. Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is inspired by Walter Dean Myers growing up, as everyone saw him as a monster because of his bad decisions. “But there are also monsters in our communities, people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others” (Dean Myers 11). This is how he was seen when growing up as he would smoke weed and miss classes, when he had the huge talent of writing. That he disregarded the rights of others. Most of his books are inspired of his struggles growing up and his bad decision making. Dean Myers has crafted amazing books to show the overall theme that it doesn’t matter where you grow up, as long as you make good choices, you can aspire to do what you