Bishop, Rudine, Presenting Walter Dean Myers, Twayne Publishers, 1990.

Bishop's book is a combination of literary criticism and biography that places Myers's work in its historical and cultural context. It provides an excellent introduction to the wide range of Myers's writing.

Masters, Edgar Lee, Spoon River Anthology, Signet Classics Paperback, reprint 1992.

Myers gives credit to Masters's book in helping inspire his own, and it is worth revisiting this classic of American literature to discover the voices of the 244 characters who speak about their lives as well as the social reform movements of their time.

Myers, Walter Dean, Bad Boy: A Memoir, HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.

Bad Boy is a memoir of Myers's Harlem childhood in the 1940s and 1950s. It explores the conflicts between Myers's home life with his adopted parents, his life in school and his love of books, and his life in his neighborhood, all set against...