Photo Credit: Zack E. Hamlett, III

Kelly Starling Lyons began her journey to become a children’s book author in her hometown of Pittsburgh. She learned the art of storytelling from her mom who took her to productions at a children’s playhouse, wrote Christian plays and made up bedtime tales. Her grandparents, who showed their imagination through cooking and gardening, taught her to honor the magic of history and home. Surrounded by creativity, Lyons began to write.

She curled up near the radiator behind her bedroom door and allowed her pen to take her to other worlds. A canopy of trees transformed into a make-believe fortress, backyards hid treasure and tunnels to faraway lands, bridges that crossed the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers spanned distance and time.

Now a children's book author and freelance writer, Lyons' mission is to transform moments, memories and history into stories of discovery. Her books including picture book, One Million Men and Me, and chapter book, NEATE: Eddie's Ordeal, have won praise for exploring relationships and black history. Her essays and feature articles have appeared in many publications including Ebony magazine, The News & Observer, Syracuse Herald-Journal, The Christian Science Monitor and Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul. Lyons lives with her husband and daughter in North Carolina where she facilitates a book club for African-American girls.

One Million Men and Me
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illustrated by Peter Ambush
Format: Hardcover, 32 pp
ISBN: 978-1-933491-07-3
Publisher: Just Us Books
Pub Date: October 2007
Recommended Age Range: 4-8

The Million Man March was a movement like no other. It brought Black men together for a day of inspiration and empowerment and it captured the attention of media across the U.S. and the world. This heartwarming picture book tells the story of the March in a new light. In One Million Men and Me, experience the strength, unity and legacy of that powerful day through the eyes of a little girl who was with her daddy the day Black men made history.

NEATE: Eddie's Ordeal
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Format: Paperback, 85 pp
ISBN: 978-0-940975-16-3
Publisher: Just Us Books
Pub Date: October 2004
Recommended Age Range: 8-12

Thirteen year old Eddie Delaney loves his dad. But sometimes he wishes that he'd lighten up. His father, a lawyer who grew up during the civil rights movement expects nothing but the best from his only son. And with Eddie’s success as a starter on the basketball team, and his good grades, Mr. Delaney’s been getting it. Then Eddie brings home a D in language arts and everything changes. His parents make him quit the team. And now Eddie’s lost the one thing he knows he’s good at, the very thing that had helped bring him and his dad together. Why is his dad so hard on him? Eddie’s friends decide to find out. But when they dig into Mr. Delaney's past they uncover a secret that rocks the foundation of the already unsteady father-son relationship, and changes Eddie’s life forever.

Author's Official Website:
http://www.kellystarlinglyons.com