Each time I think there is no place lower to go, I find that there is at least one place that will mess you up worse than you were.
Walter Dean MyersAs a kid I didn't see black cowboys on the screen. What that said to me was that there were things I couldn't do or be because of my color. What we see others like us do gives us permission to expand our own horizons.
Walter Dean MyersWeโre suggesting that [kids are] missing something if they donโt read but, actually, weโre condemning kids to a lesser life. If you had a sick patient, you would not try to entice them to take their medicine. You would tell them, โTake this or youโre going to die.โ We need to tell kids flat out: reading is not optional.
Walter Dean MyersPeople told me to give up trying to be special and settle down to a regular life. There ain't nothing wrong with a regular life, and that's the Lord's truth...but it wasn't for me, because I wanted to be something special. I knew how easy it was for a dream to die. I seen that all around me. You could let it die by just looking the other way.
Walter Dean Myers