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Christopher Myers firmly believes that life is a story, and we all have stories to tell. "You live your life, and that's interesting. Where you live is interesting. Where you come from is interesting – no matter who you are."
This outlook is not surprising, since storytelling is something of a tradition in the Myers family. Even though Mr. Myers' grandfather couldn't read, he was a wonderful storyteller, and he passed that talent on to his son (Walter Dean Myers) and grandson.
Mr. Myers' father was very supportive of his son's growing talents and always took him seriously. This is an attitude that Mr. Myers applies to his own writing. "Kids are serious people… I trust kids to know when their story is being told right."
And doing it right is especially important to Mr. Myers. "Doing any kind of book that is going to be published with your name on it 50,000 times, you know you want that book to be right. You know you want that book to be perfect. And it's hard work."
But anything worth doing is worth doing well, and Mr. Myers says that's why learning to read is so important. "One of the things to realize about reading is that it is something worth working for. It's about how you live in this world."
Click here to read about another children's book author and illustrator,
Rosemary Wells>>
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