From the award-winning author of Monster , this collection of powerful and poignant stories about 145th Street—an unforgettable block in the heart of Harlem—celebrates African-American life in all of its glory. "Myers is a master." — The New York Times Book Review On Harlem's 145th Street, things happen that don't happen anywhere else in the world. Get to know Big Joe, who's throwing his own funeral while he's here to enjoy it, and everyone's invited. Meet Kitty and Mack, teens with a love story more real than anything they've ever known. Follow Monkeyman, the quietest kid on the block and the last person you'd expect the Tigros gang to target. And don't miss the block party of the year--the whole neighborhood will be there.  From danger and despair to hilarity and joy, literary legend Walter Dean Myers captures every mood and every beat of life in this vibrant Harlem.  This twentieth-anniversary edition of Myers's work features brand-new content, including historical information about Harlem's rich past, an immersive map of the neighborhood's iconic landmarks, and touching tributes from authors, artists, and literary legends. Celebrating two decades in print, this edition honors Myers's enormous legacy and brings his work to a new generation of readers. An ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults     AWARDS FOR WALTER DEAN MYERS: New York Times Bestselling Author 3-Time National Book Award Finalist Michael L. Printz Award 5 Coretta Scott King Awards 2 Newbery Honors National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature (2012-2013) Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement Children’s Literature Legacy Award An ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults       AWARDS FOR WALTER DEAN MYERS: New York Times Bestselling Author 3-Time National Book Award Finalist Michael L. Printz Award 5 Coretta Scott King Awards 2 Newbery Honors National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature (2012-2013) Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement Children’s Literature Legacy Award PRAISE FOR WALTER DEAN MYERS:   "Myers has a  great natural style  . . . and is completely at home in a Harlem depicted without adulation but with great affection." — The Horn Book Magazine , Starred "Readers will find that they could  settle in for hours and take it all in ." — Publishers Weekly , Starred " Fast, wry, and honest  . . . the search for personal identity is at the heart of this lyrical collection, and so is the sense of the place." — Booklist , Boxed 1937–2014 Walter Dean Myers’s fiction and nonfiction books have reached millions of young people. A prolific author of more than one hundred titles, he received every major award in the field of children’s literature. He wrote two Newbery Honor Books, eleven Coretta Scott King Award winners, three National Book Award finalists, and the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. He also received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults and was the first recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was a 2010 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Award numerous times. From 2012 to 2013, he served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature with the platform “Reading is not optional.” In his most-beloved books, Walter explored the themes of taking responsibility for your life and that everyone always gets a second chance. The way I see it, things happen on 145th Street that don't happen anywhere else in the world. I'm not saying that 145th is weird or anything like that, but it's, like, intense. So when I heard about Big Joe's funeral it didn't take me by surprise. It was something that I remember, and that's why I'm telling it. This is the way it went down. The funeral took place on the Fourth of July, one of the hottest days of the year. People were sitting out on their fire escapes or on their front stoops trying to catch a breeze. If there was a breeze in the 'hood it must have stopped somewhere for an iced tea because I didn't see or feel it. Nobody was doing any unnecessary movements unless their name was Peaches Jones, who was setting out to ruin Big Joe's funeral. Peaches was what you would call seriously fine. She was fifteen, about five feet three, a medium brown color, and definitely wrong. She was wrong because she was not giving Big Joe his propers, which means his proper respect. A person ought to have respect for other people all of the time, but especially at two times during their life. The first time is when they are born. When a baby is born you shouldn't say discouraging things about it like "Hey, I seen prettier dogs than that baby," or "Maybe he ain't ugly, maybe he's just inside out." Give the baby a chance. The other time you need to show some respect is when a person is going on out of this world. You know, like they're