|
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsAHA News: Pandemic Pods Offer Social Relief, But There Are RisksSaying 'I Understand' Makes a Real Difference, Study ShowsCaring for Elderly Loved Ones During a Holiday LockdownGive Your Family the Gift of Regular ExercisePoll: 1 in 3 Parents Pick Holiday Gathering Over COVID SafetyCollege Kid Coming Home for Thanksgiving? Here's How to Keep Your Family SafeAHA News: Despite the Pandemic, Keep Social Connections Strong This Holiday SeasonThink 'Virtual' for Family Gatherings During the HolidaysWhen Your Spouse Gripes About Aging, It Might Harm Your HealthSpouses Share a Lot – Including Heart Health, Study ShowsKids' Hospitalizations Accompany Rising Unemployment Rates: StudyMost American Families Facing Financial Danger During Pandemic: PollCOVID Conflicts Are Putting Big Strains on RelationshipsWhy Some Gifts Are Better-Received Than OthersWhen Parents, Grandparents Don't Agree on Childrearing ChoicesU.S. Grandparents Are Raising Millions of Kids, and It's ToughChild Care Stresses, Hunger Are Harming U.S. Families During PandemicMany U.S. Homes Too Cramped to Stop COVID-19's SpreadWith Pandemic-Related Stress, Abuse Against Kids Can SurgeLove During Lockdown: Survey Shows How Couples Have CopedWith Nursing Homes on Lockdown, Stay Connected With Loved OnesAHA News: Instead of a Tie, Think About Healthy Gifts and Gratitude for Father's DayPandemic Lockdown Increases Child Abuse RiskLoving Family May Lower Future Depression Risk in KidsKeeping Harmony in the Family During Coronavirus PandemicAHA News: If You Hunker Down Against Coronavirus, Don't Stop Reaching Out, Experts Say12 Weeks of Paid Maternity Leave Benefits Everyone: StudyFrozen Donor Eggs May Lead to Fewer Births Than Fresh Ones Questions and AnswersPersonality Disorder or Just a Horrible PersonHusband Jealous of my Friends and FamilyIs it Just a Name?!She's Lied About EverythingMy Family is Ruining my Relationship With my Boyfriend What Is Wrong With Me ?My Boyfriend's Children Won't Accept Me....Does my Boyfriend Have Feelings For His Ex Wife?I Have BulimiaArranged MarriageWhen is Enough, Enough?Breaking UpSoon to be 15 Year Old Step Daughter Who is Physically Abusive to Family MembersI Have Everything I Ever Wanted. Why am I so Miserable?Should I Stay or Should I Go?Wife's BehaviorStep-Daughter is Deliberately AbusiveIs my Sister a Pathological Liar?Lost in Limbo19 Year Old DaughterNeed Help in Building the BridgesLack of Affection and IntimacyIs He Seeing Someone?Marriage QuestionRespect + Anger ManagmentMy Husband With Daughter...... Resentment-Controlling Wife/Passive-Agressive HusbandGetting Married, Stepsons With Awful TempersAdult Son Interferes with Our RelationshipCo-Dependent MotherCan My Marriage Be Saved?On and Off Relationship For Almost 10yrsI Am Tired of MarriageI'm His 2nd Wife. Am I Destined to Play Second Fiddle to His daughter Forever?How do I Get my Husband to the Psychiatrist?Is it Inappropriate to Call my Daughter...Trying to Save 37 Years of Marriage With My Bipolar HusbandAlcoholism and FamilyBipolar Obsessive Thoughts and False Memories Crazy Mother In Law Ruining Our Mental Health and RelationshipCaught In The Middle Caring For Elderly ParentI am a Newlywed and Need HelpHusband's Relationship With His ChildrenSubstance AbuseChronically Ill Non-Compliant 19 Year OldChild With Possible Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)Obsession or ExcuseThe Marriage Corner: How Can I Move Past This?The Marriage Corner: Do You Think my Marriage Can be Repaired?I am Only 26 Years OldMy Boyfriend Saved a Picture of a Girl he Slept With in Case we Split up?Adoptive Mother of 3 Children - SunFlowerHow to Handle my Mothers State of Mind?JoylessShould I Fight For My Marriage?Homesick and Feeling Stuck.Why Does My Wife's Old Boyfriend Bother Me?How do We Get Her to Accept Us as Part of The Family?Another WomanBoyfriends DaughterHow do I Cope With a Parent Who is Trying to Ruin me?Worried About 4-year-old with DepressionSame Views On So Much, but Can't Get Along As A CoupleIt's Me or It's My Mother?Considering Divorce After Several Deaths in The FamilySchizophreniaSchizophrenic Relapse !Please Help Me..My 19 Year Old Daughter is Out of ControlMy 19 Year Old SonI Desperately Want to Make This WorkHelp!!!Marraige Life of my Parents Is This Abuse and What Should I Do?My Girlfriend's Family Is Ruining Our RelationshipI Feel Like I Have Failed - - May 20th 2010Relationship With My Bipolar and ADHD GirlfriendHuge Disapointment With My HusbandI Don't Really Care About Anything. What Should I Do?What Should I do?My Father, The Sociopath...What is Wrong? What Should I do With my 19 Year-Old Daughter's Anger Issue?Dominating Mother How to Help Our College Age Son with Depression and AddictionCan My Marriage be Saved?Personal HygieneHelp Me Please. What is Going On With Me?Parenting a Bipolar Child, Not Quite a Child, Not Quite an AdultAm I Being Used?Is This Jealous Behaviour Normal In a Child?Grandson BehaviorHusband's AddictionHelp or Do Nothing?Pregnant AgainConcernedAre my past sexual fantasies dangerous and unusual?It is finally an emergency. We need help. Please.Trauma and Drama: Why are friends and family rejecting me? Why is my mom following me around to take over my life?Does my husband have bipolar although the doctors said he doesn't?Fear of death and dyinghow to ask if the pics are her?Unhappy MarriageDid I push them too much?How do you turn your back on your 19 year old daughter?What To Do With a Dysfunctional Past SHOULD GRANDPARENTS INSIST ON SEEING A GRANDCHILD My husband wants to leave me My husband no longer believesMy Son's ProblemWhy do I beat myself up over what they think?Bipolar sister, Narcissist boyfriendUnderstanding my sonWorried about my sonChild jealous of moms relationship with her new husbandThis guy I bullyIs There Help Out There? Lonely Mother of ThreeAm I Depressed?Should I Give Up On This Marriage?dealing with demanding mothercan you give me some advice please?17 year old running the houseOut of control 24 year old sisterMy needy son hates my boyfriend. How can I avoid choosing one over the other?voice in my headtwo intelligent adults who feel they don\'t have friends19 Year Old Daugter--Out of control17 yr old refuses help with bi-polar disorderTeen in Full Retreatout of control 16 year old nephewDepression? Bi-Polar? Personality Disorder?i need help with my sisterGet SupportedForgotten or just ignored?Dealing with a family member's complete personality changeMother showering & sleeping in same bed with 5 year oldDisbeliefZoloft - good or badmy little sisterUnattractive regardless, why bother?Coping with Narcissistic BehaviorHow to Deal with the Loss of Familyhusband\'s angerDid I Love my husband and still abuse him emotionallyI have a hard time making friends with other guysHow to communicate to a \'feeler\'homesickhow can i control morbid jealousyHow can I open up and become my old self again?Advice for my unhappily married friendHow can I tell the difference?Cannot support old friend in her affairIs Something Wrong With Her?Need to find a reason for the abuseMom's Unlisted NumberHow to help a Womanizing friend?'Extremely controling' wife and passive husbandA Habitual Liar's Lamentthe way out is through the doorDrug Addict SonAngry At Ex-BoyfriendViolent SisterWhen Will My Boyfriend Grow Up?A Marriage Outside The CasteAngry MomSeeing A Married ManDisordered Family Member BehaviorMy RoommateA Mean, Verbally Abusive WomanStepson With Personality DisorderMom's ProtectorBusted By A 5-Year-OldGetting Along With Narcissistic RelativesPossibly Molested DaughterDirty NieceHelping My SisterCongenital LazinessBlossoming Paranoia?Is Anxiety A Hereditary Factor?Enmeshed With MumHypochondriac DaughterAbusive FatherGoing CrazySelf-Abusive Step-Daughter(Wo)man In The MiddleParanoid DepressionWithdrawn BrotherDysfunctional FamilyParanoiaMy Mother Is Ruining My LifeCowardly StepdadDaughter's Violent MarriageMy Father Dislikes HimHistrionic Sister-in-LawLong-Distance SupportPersonality Disordered GrandmotherDo I Tell My Children I'm Depressed?Father In RomaniaMom's VentingUnhappy In An Arranged MarriageToxic ParentsA Situation For Tough Love?Avoiding Her ParentsBoarding School BluesDepression Affects The Entire FamilyInternet RelationshipI Want To Leave, But For The Children ...Public MenaceSomatization and HypochondriasSelf-Injuring SisterFamily BoundariesDealing with DivorceTrashed HouseRelationship TriangulationWhat To Treat First?Love TriangleProblematic ParentsHis Mother is Ruining Our RelationshipManaging PrioritiesTime to Cut the Apron StringsMommy's New BoyfriendBusy and WantingOver-Protective MotherHe's Not HimselfJealous of My Fiance's FamilyYoung LoveDifferent ReligionsMy Husband's Daughter...My Dad the DictatorMy Children Aren't Speaking..Dogs Instead of Children?My Wife is DepressedFalling ApartProblems with My Daughter VideosLinksBook Reviews |
| |
by Walter Dean Myers Amistad, 2003 Review by Su Terry on Jul 29th 2004 
The
Dream Bearer by Walter Dean Myers is a colorful
novel about a boy learning to cope with his father's mental illness and the adult
world around him. The story is set in Harlem. David
Curry is the 12-year old African-American protagonist. His life is not easy. His
mother is the primary wage earner. She wants to convert a neighborhood building
into a homeless shelter. His father is on medication to control his mental
illness, but frequently goes off it. He is only able to work as a day laborer,
and unfortunately is employed by the owner of the building his wife wants to
convert. His brother, 17-year old Tyrone, is involved with something unsavory.
David thinks that it might be drugs but is not sure. Whatever it is, it has Tyrone
on the run. Sessi Mutu is
David's African friend and neighbor. She is building a traditional African hut
on the roof of her tenement. Her parents have applied for American citizenship,
but Sessi and David are both worried what will happen
if their application is rejected? There is only David's childhood friend,
Loren, to talk to about his worries until he meets a homeless man named
Littlejohn Moses. Mr. Moses tells David that he is a "dream bearer". After
living 300 years, Mr. Moses is tired and is looking for another person to be
the new "dream bearer". As tensions grow at home between his mother
and father and his brother does not returned home, David find comfort and
insight in the dreams that Mr. Moses shares with David.
The novel presents a colorful
tableau of the urban world of Harlem. Parents struggle
to get by in the world. Young men get involve with gangs, drugs, and gambling. African
immigrants struggle to become American citizens, yet are reluctant to give up
their native ways and customers. Homeless people sit on benches in the park. Boys
grow up. This is an eye-opening book for anyone who does not live in an urban
environment.
Walter Dean Myers
is the author of more than 75 books for young people. Myers was born in West
Virginia but raised in Harlem.
His autobiography which was written for young people is entitled, Bad Boy: a Memoir (2002). He has
received many awards, including National Endowment of the Arts grant (1982
& 1989); the MacDowell Fellowship (1988);
American Library Association (ALA) Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime
Achievement in Writing for Young Adults (1994), and ALAN Award (1994). Many of
his books have received awards including, Where Does the Day Go? (1968 Council on Interracial Books for Children
Award); The Dancers (1972 Child Study
Association of America's Children's Books of the Year); Fast Sam, Cool Clyde and Stuff (1975 ALA Notable Children's Books
List); Ain't All for Nothin'
(1978 ALA Notable Children's Books List, 1978 ALA Best Books For Young Adults
List); The Young Landlords (1980 Coretta Scott King Award, 1979 ALA Notable Children's Books
List, 1979 ALA Best Books For Young Adults List); Legend of Tarik (1982 Notable Children's
Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies from the National Council for Social
Studies and the Children's Book Council, 1981 ALA Notable Children's Books
List,1981 ALA Best Books For Young Adults List); Hoops (1994 Margaret A. Edwards Award, 1982 Edgar Allan Poe Award
runner-up, 1982 ALA Notable Children's Books List, 1982 ALA Best Books For
Young Adults List); Won't Know Til' I Get There (1982 Parents' Choice Foundation
Award); Tales of a Dead King (1983
New Jersey Institute Technology Authors Award); The Outside Shot (1984 Parents' Choice Foundation Award); Motown (1985 Coretta
Scott King Award); Didi (1985 Coretta Scott King Award); Adventure in Granada (1987 Child Study Association of America's
Children's Books of the Year); Fallen
Angels (1989 Coretta Scott King Award, 1988
Parents' Choice Foundation Award, 1988 ALA Best Books For Young Adults List); Me, Mop, and the Moondance
Kid (1988 ALA Notable Children's Books List); Scorpions
(1989 Newbery Honor Book, 1988 ALA Notable Children's
Books List, 1988 ALA Best Books For Young Adults List); Now Is Your Time (1992 Coretta Scott King
Award,1992 ALA Best Books For Young Adults List); Somewhere in the Darkness (1993 Newbery
Honor Book, 1993 Coretta Scott King Award,1993 ALA
Notable Children's Books List, 1993 ALA Best Books For Young Adults List,1992
Boston Globe/Horn Book Award,); Malcolm X
(1994 Coretta Scott King Award); Slam! 1997 Coretta Scott King Award; Harlem (1998 Caldecott Honor Book, 1998 Coretta Scott King Award, 1998 ALA Best Books For Young
Adults List); and Monster (1999
Michael L. Printz Award, 1999 Coretta
Scott King Author Honor Award, and 1998 National Book Award Finalist). Mr.
Myers lives in New Jersey with
his family. Shooter (2004) is his latest novel.
The Dream Bearer by
Walter Dean Myers is a well written novel. The book is
recommended for Age 10 years
and up. I recommend this book.
© 2004 Su Terry
Su Terry: Education:
B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from
Southern Connecticut State College, M.R.S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral
Counseling from Fairfield University, a M.Div. in
Professional Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a Certificate in
Spirituality/Spiritual Direction from Sacred Heart University. She is a
Licensed Minister of the United Church of Christ and an Assistant Professor in
Library Science at Dowling College,
Long Island, NY.
|