Bad Boy

"Dabba! Dabba! Dabba!" Manuel Bonilla taunted me, standing inches from my face and mimicking my poor speech as the rest of the class watched. "Dabba! Dabba! Dabba!" Manuel stopped the "dabba-dabba-dabba" when I hit him in the face. "Is he dead?" someone asked. Of course Manuel wasn't anywhere near dead, but that didn't stop Mrs. Bower from sending me directly to the principal's office. Again. Into a memoir that is funny, heartbreaking, and unforgettable, Walter Dean Myers richly weaves the details of his Harlem childhood in the 1940s and 1950s: a loving home life with his adoptive parents, Bible school, street games, and the vitality of his neighborhood. Although Walter spent much of his time either getting into trouble or on the basketball court, secretly he was a voracious reader and an aspiring writer. But as his prospects for a successful future diminished, the values he had been taught at home, in school, and in his community seemed worthless, and he turned to the streets and his books for comfort. Here in his own words is the story of one of the strongest voices in children's and young adult literature today. Walter Dean Myers has received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature and is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. His many titles include Monster, the 2000 Michael L. Printz Award winner, National Book Award Finalist, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, and the Caldecott Honor Book, Harlem, and the Newbery Honor Books Scorpions. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.