Walter Dean Myers passed away on July 1, 2014. Through his writing and the sharing of his personal story, he had a huge impact on young people facing the struggles of growing up and many serious real-life situations. His warmth and wisdom will live on through his books. Here is his obituary, as it appeared in The New York Times:
Walter Dean Myers, a best-selling children’s book author whose crystalline prose often depicted the gritty lives of young people, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 76.
His death, at Beth Israel Medical Center, followed a brief illness, his son Christopher said.
Mr. Myers was a three-time National Book Award nominee, received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for African-American fiction five times and from 2012 to 2013 served as national ambassador for young people’s literature, a position created in part by the Library of Congress.
In books that included “Monster,” “Lockdown” and “Fallen Angels,” he often painted portraits of young African-Americans who battled troubles in the streets, in school and at home.
Mr. Myers, who lived in Jersey City, visited schools and prisons around the country. He often met young people whose poverty and lack of direction reminded him of his own experience.
Books by Walter Dean Myers 