Author Walter Dean Myers is passionate about the benefits of parents reading to children
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Author Walter Dean Myers, right, and son Christopher Myers, an illustrator, will speak at Hill House Sunday.
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Walter Dean Myers, author of more than 100 books for young adults and children, is the first African-American writer to serve as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and the third person to hold the position, which the Library of Congress created in 2008.
He succeeds Katherine Paterson, best known for her novel "Bridge to Terabithia," and Jon Scieszka, author of "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales."
In his new role, Mr. Myers, 74, of Jersey City, N.J., will visit schools and libraries nationwide for the next two years to talk about reading and literacy. He appears Sunday at Hill House with his 37-year-old son, Christopher, an artist who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has illustrated many of his father's books.
Where: Black, White & Read All Over series presented by Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures at Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium, Hill House, 1825 Centre Ave., Hill District.
When: Discussion 2:30 p.m. followed by booksigning. Student musicians from the Hope Academy After School Program will perform at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 and $10, at the door or at www.pittsburghlectures.org, or 412-622-8866.
Mr. Myers' books vividly detail the temptations and violence that poor urban teenagers confront daily, including gang warfare, drugs and drive-by shootings. As an adolescent, Mr. Myers knew turmoil, too. His mother became a full-blown alcoholic. The murder of an uncle plunged him into a deep depression. On his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the Army after dropping out of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan.
Once out of the military, he eventually turned to writing. His passion for teaching children to read soon after they are able to walk is so heartfelt that it's palpable during a telephone interview.
"Fifty percent of all meaningful education takes place in the home," the soft-spoken author said. "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. It's not because he was so brilliant. He benefited from all the educational opportunities in the household."
First Published February 8, 2012 12:00 am
