And I see the - you know, when I go to the juvenile detention centers and prisons, I see people who can't read now. And I know that when they leave those prisons and those detention centers, they're not going to be able to make it in our society.
Walter Dean MyersAnd what I was feeling was the wonder Of being more than me, of being more Than mere here and now allowed I had become a shining star, a burning nova Exploded with love Flying through an endlessly Expanding universe Away from the me that was Toward a me that is beyond Understanding.
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 MyersOne of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards, had a negative effect on the viewing public. The military in Iraq specifically banned the photographing of wounded soldiers and coffins, thus sanitizing this terrible and bloody conflict.
Walter Dean Myers