Bad Boy

$23.99
ISBN-13: 9780063099937
Walter Dean Myers
Dawud Anyabwile Illustrator
Guy A. Sims Adapted
Sep 30, 2025
 
Young Adult Nonfiction / Comics & Graphic Novels / Biography
Ages 13 And Up, Grades 8 And Up
 

A gripping graphic memoir adaptation of iconic, multi-award-winning author Walter Dean Myers’s autobiography, telling the story of his coming of age in Harlem, adapted by Guy A. Sims and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.

Legendary author Walter Dean Myers was once a troublemaker and a truant.

Just how bad was he? From instigating mischievous pranks at home to fighting in the classroom—especially when teased about his speech impediment—irrepressible Walter was more than a handful. Underneath it all, he had a tremendous love for books, and by high school, he longed to become a writer. But financial troubles at home made him feel as though his options were so limited that he dropped out of school. Still, his desire to write was as irrepressible as Walter himself. If he could only be given the chance . . .

Walter recounts what growing up in Harlem was like in the 1940s and 1950s—when seeing Langston Hughes and Sugar Ray Robinson on the street was the norm and Jackie Robinson ruled the baseball field.

Gripping. Funny. Heartbreaking. Walter Dean Myers's memoir is unforgettable. This is the award-winning story of one of the strongest voices in children’s and young adult literature, adapted into a graphic memoir by Guy A. Sims and brought to life with illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile.