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Children's book illustrator Christopher Myers.
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Children's Corner: 'We Are America: A Tribute From the Heart'

Children's Corner: 'We Are America: A Tribute From the Heart'

Award-winning author Walter Dean Myers readily acknowledges his love for his country. Yet, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mr. Myers found himself bothered by the way some of his countrymen defined what it meant to be an American.

"I saw how people were talking about patriotism, and they were not including black people, not including Latinos, they were not including any women -- They were just including brave American white males," Mr. Myers said in a recent telephone interview from his home in northern New Jersey.

"Many of the definitions were bothersome, if for no other reason that they didn't seem to include me," added Mr. Myers, who is African-American and an Army veteran.

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Concerned about this narrow definition of patriotism, he embarked on a years-long effort to capture his own view of what it means to be an American. He went back and re-read such core U.S. documents as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and The Federalist Papers, and spent time pondering key events in American history.

The result of Mr. Myers' labors is a thought-provoking collection of poems presented in a picture-book format and titled "We Are America: A Tribute From the Heart" (HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 10 up to adult).

In a series of 14 loosely chronological, free-verse poems, Mr. Myers explores the complexity of the United States, from the diversity of its people to the nation's wide-ranging history. He doesn't shy away from negative aspects of U.S. history, such as slavery, racism and war. Yet, Mr. Myers' portrait of his country remains a loving one in which he celebrates the freedom that is the birthright of every American.

As he writes in the concluding poem:

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"To each child a freedom dream/To each soul the sweet taste of liberty/To each heart give the promise/Of America."

Mr. Myers' lyrical poetry in "We Are America" is perfectly matched by the book's spectacular illustrations, done by his son, Christopher Myers. The illustrations pulse with energy and color as they portray various phases of U.S. history and show a variety of famous Americans, such as astronaut Mae Jemison, labor organizer Cesar Chavez, architect I.M. Pei and author Mark Twain. Christopher Myers sets the tone of the book with his cover illustration, a close-up of the head of the Statue of Liberty.

Christopher Myers spent months doing historical research before beginning his artwork, which took three years to create. The finished illustrations actually are monumental in size -- 3 feet by 9 feet -- and represent an enormous time commitment because Christopher Myers used oil pastels to create them.

"I tried to do the illustrations in a less arduous [art] medium like watercolor. But, to be honest, that just didn't do it," Christopher Myers said in a telephone interview from his home in New York City.

Oil pastels are "a very tiny medium ... but I really wanted to reflect the emotion of Dad's writing," he added. In addition, "Dad's text is remarkably free of long lists of people. One of the things I could do is bring people in, bring faces to the dynamics of the text."

The Myerses have worked together on several previous children's books, including "Harlem," for which Christopher Myers won a Caldecott Honor, given annually to recognize achievements in children's-book illustrations. (Walter Dean Myers has won two Newbery Honors -- given annually for distinguished writing of children's books -- as well as numerous other writing awards).

"We're very close as far as our personal lives are concerned," said Walter Dean Myers. So, when the two work together, "he really doesn't want his end to fall down. That's a challenge for him, and he lives up to it. I know that if I give him something to illustrate, he will bring something more to it than I expected. And I think that, if Chris is going to work on something, I'd better do it well."

Christopher Myers echoes his father's assessment of how they push each other to do their best.

"Doing books is one of our ways of talking with each other. We are privileged to be able to let the world in on our conversation. ... The questions that we ask each other, we get to discuss them by making a book. It's such a gift, especially for us as father and son."

Both hope that "We Are America" will spark many discussions between parents and children.

"The book provides an opportunity for people to ask their children, 'What does it mean to be an American?' " Christopher Myers said.

For Walter Dean Myers, writing the poems for "We Are America" is a way "to take responsibility for my country. ... If we in the left, the liberal center -- if we don't take responsibility, then we leave the idea of what love of country and patriotism means to the lunatic fringe."

As he writes in an author's note in "We Are America": "No words here have been penned lightly, no flag waved mindlessly. This is simply my truest feelings for my country, my tribute to America."

First Published: May 31, 2011, 8:00 a.m.

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