We Are America by Walter Dean Meyers

We Are America by Walter Dean Myers

*Review created for Texas Woman’s University graduate level class*

1. BIBLIOHRAPHY

Myers, Walter Dean. 2011. WE ARE AMERICA. Ill by Christopher Myers. New York, New York. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06052308-4

2. SUMMARY

The book is written in free verse poetry and tells the story of America through its citizens, and alternates between  poetry and a quote by an American.  Included are quotes by Edward Johnson, The Declarations of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, Tecumseh, Andrew Hamilton, and more.

3. CRITICAL REVIEW

Myers creates a masterpiece of discovery.  His book about what it is to be an American is enlightening, as well as beautiful.  Myers uses metaphors to great effect when he describes Americans.  For instance, “we were machines belching smoke” when he describes the industrial efforts of Americans.  The author uses a short, staccato, beat to help add meaning to the poem.  The poem is free verse although there is some rhyming, such as

We wanted to be free of tyranny

Free from kings and queens

To pursue our own ideas

Our own destiny.

(Walter Dean Myers, “We Are America”)

The author has a good command of poetry and uses imagery to help readers imagine the life of Americans.  It is hard to choose which lines best show his exquisite imagery.  This line comes close;

Freedom like water on the tongues of thirsting men

freedom as sweet as young love.

(Walter Dean Myers, “We Are America”)

 These lines are beautifully rendered and help the reader connect to the best part of America; the freedoms that we have and fought for. The illustrations, done by Christopher Myers, his son, are beautifully rendered and help portray the poem, as well as provide another dimension to the poems.  In one illustration, which was done in pastels and dark colors, show a slave with his scarred back, men lying dead after the Battle at Wounded Knee, and Japanese Americans behind a fence; these images show some of the darkest moments in our history.  At the end of the book, Myers has a brief paragraph describing each of the quotes, and some information about the author of the quotes.

The reader is able to connect emotionally to the poem, because every American is able to understand the hope for a better future, and the regret of mistakes made in the past.  Myers describes America through the eyes of factory workers, Native Americans, civil rights fighters, soldiers, immigrants, and above all, dreamers.  He describes America, the good, the bad, and the promise of a better life. 

To each heart give the promise

Of America.

(Walter Dean Myers, “We Are America”)

4. REVIEWS

“The Myers team shares their heartfelt and stirring vision of an America flawed but filled with promises and dreams”… Kirkus Reviews

“A thought-provoking and largely accomplished work for students of American history”... Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

“Readers will take every opportunity to pause and reflect and trace their fingers along the glorious artwork. Stunning”… Kikrus Reviews

5. CONNECTIONS

Read other books written by Walter Dean Myers such as Here in Harlem.

Learn more about some of the events mentioned in the poem such as the Japanese Americans placed in internment camps during World War II, or about the Native American and American relations such as Wounded Knee, or the Cherokee Trail of Tears.

Have children create a poem about what they feel is it to be an American, and then publish them online, or hang them up in the hallways at school. 

Listen to the short interview the author gives about We Are America on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDQXjG0hjLQ

Works Cited

Kirkus Reviews. "We Are America." Accessed July 2, 2012. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-dean-myers/we-are-america/#review.

School Library Journal. "SLJ's Recent Reviews of Walter Dean Myers Books." Accessed July 2, 2012. http://www.slj.com/slj/home/893229-312/sljs_recent_reviews_of_walter.html.csp.

You Tube. "We Are America: Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers." Accessed July 2, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDQXjG0hjLQ.