Walter Dean Myers was born in 1937 in West Virginia. He was raised by a man named Walter Dean in Harlem, New York after being given to his care as a child. Myers dropped out of high school at 17 but later claimed to have graduated. He joined the army after dropping out. Throughout his life, basketball was an important part of his interests and imagination. He wondered what life would be like if he made it professionally in basketball. Myers went on to become a renowned author known for young adult novels that addressed the African American experience.

1. SLAM!
Author: Walter Dean Myers
By: Nick Keyes
Reading-Roche
Period 3
May 7

2. BIOGRAPHY OF WALTER DEAN MYERS
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937, in Martinsburg, West
Virginia. His birth name was Walter Milton Myers. He was then given to a
man to take care of him named Walter Dean who lived in Harlem, Virginia.
Herbert was African American. Florence was German and Native American.
He said that he centered his life around the neighborhood and the church. He
said the neighborhood protected him and the church guided him. Walter
dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen but the high school he
went to claims that he graduated. After he dropped out of high school Walter
joined the army. Basketball was a big part of his life when he laid in bed at
night he thought what would happen if he made the pros or what would
happen if he played college basketball.

3. SUMMARY
The book slam is about a kid named Greg Harris who grows up in the hood as
they say in the book. He faces some tuff things on his way to becoming an
elite basketball player he goes through the troubles of school, his grandma
being sick, and his friends. He has trouble in school by he doesn’t study or
forgets to but if he does study he forgets it and the principle said that he can
not play basketball if he doesn’t get good grades. He has trouble with his
grandma by it was just randomly that she got sick and with his parents gone
to visit her in the hospital his parents do not make them dinner slam has to
make dinner for him and his little brother Derrick. The last thing he has
trouble with are his friends he had a best friend named Ice but then Slam and
Ice get in a fight about how Ice sells drugs so they aren’t friends anymore but
Slam meets this one kid who people call Ducky who is on the basketball team
with Slam becomes Slam’s best friend.

4. CHARACTERS
Main Characters
• Gregory Slam Harris- most important character he is good at basketball
and sort of self-centered.
• Ice- Was Slam’s best friend until they got into a fight. Starts to sell drugs.,
• Ducky- Slam’s new best friend shorter and he is always there for Slam.
Minor Characters
• Mtisha- Slam’s girlfriend she is a very sociable person she always knows
what people are doing.
• Derrick- Slam’s little brother he is spunky and nosy he always wants to
know what people are talking about.
• Mrs. Harris- A very loving and caring person she seems like a good mom
always taking care of Slam and Derrick.
• Mr. Harris- A grouchy person when he does not have a job, he always loses
a job, and he has a drinking problem.

5. PLOT
Introduction
• You meet Slam and his family.
• How Slam knows what time it is by the traffic.
Rising Action
• Slam goes to a new school.
• Slam heres that if he keeps on getting bad grades he will not
be able to play basketball.
• Slam Makes the basketball team without even trying out.
• Slam does not start his first and second basketball game.
• Slam’s grandma gets sick and is in the hospital

6. PLOT CONTINUED
CLIMAX
• Slam finds out that his best friend Ice is now selling drugs so they get in a
fight over it and they are not friends anymore.
Falling Action
• Slam forgets that he has a test in math and forgets to study and he fails
the test.
• Slam’s coach Goldie says that he has to show the coach that he is a team
player if he wants to start in a game.
• Slam and a few of his teammates get in a fight.
• Slam’s mom and his principle say the best thing for slam right now is to get
a tutor for math.
Conclusion
• Slam starts to get in a fight with his coach.
• Slam finally gets the picture about helping his teammates in basketball
and passing the ball

7. VOCABULARY
1. Nonchalanting-adjective coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or
unexcited; casual.
2. Ghetto-a section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area,
inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other
minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions,
pressures, or hardships.
3. Cigarette- noun a cylindrical roll of finely cut tobacco cured for
smoking, considerably smaller than most cigars and usually
wrapped in thin white paper.
4. Bodega- Noun a wine shop. A warehouse for storing or aging wine.
5. Reefer-noun Nautical . a person who reefs. a short, close-fitting
coat or jacket of thick cloth, similar to a pea jacket. A woman's
tailored, fitted, single- or double-breasted coat of durable material
with a collar.

8. STARING ACTORS
Will Smith as Slam. Nicki Minaj as Mtisha.

9. STARING ACTORS
T.I. as Ice.
Queen Latifah as Mrs. Harris

10. STARING ACTORS
Samuel L. Jackson as Mr. Harris.
Jayden Smith as Derrick.

11. STARING ACTORS
Zack Effron as Ducky.

12. SOUNDTRACK TUNES
I chose the song winner by Jammie Foxx featuring T.I. I would have this song playing when they are in their first game
and they are losing until they put Slam in.
I feel like I can't miss
I know they want me to fall
But ain't nothin' bigger than this
So just pass me the ball
You know you lookin' at a winner, winner, winner
I can't miss, can't lose, can't miss
You know you lookin' at a winner, winner, winner
Cause I'm a winner, yeah I'm a winner
Read more: JAMIE FOXX - WINNER LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/winner-lyrics-jamie-foxx.html#ixzz1uWQdqDHz
Copied from MetroLyrics.com they are down until they put Slam in.

13. RATING
I would give Slam! a four out of five stars. I thought it was a great book. I loved the
basketball games and I thought that this could actually be true. What I did not like was
all of the drugs and alcohol that happened. Like Ice selling drugs when he was only in
high school. Also how the dad came home drunk sometimes so I thought that that
should not be in the book. I would recommend this book though to whoever likes
basketball and just a greatly written story.

14. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
Here are just a few other books dealing with basketball.
• Summer Ball by Mike Lupica
• The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam.
• Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made by David Halberstam.