Quick Facts
| Intro | American author |
| Is | Writer Children's writer |
| From | United States of America |
| Field | Literature |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 21 December 1963, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Age | 59 years |
| Star sign | Sagittarius |
Biography
Kelly Starling Lyons is a writer and children's book author. She is also one of the founding members of the blog The Brown Bookshelf, which is aimed at young African-American readers and features book reviews and author and illustrator interviews.
Personal
Lyons was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a high-school student, Lyons loved the works of Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry and set a goal to be an author.
As an adult, she read the book Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, which was the first time she had seen an African-American girl featured on the cover of a picture book. This inspired her to start writing fiction books for children that would feature African-American lead characters.
Lyons makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Lyons attended Syracuse University, where she earned a B.A. in African-American Studies, as well as her M.S. in Magazine Journalism. She has since worked for Ebony Magazine, The News & Observer, and the Syracuse Herald-Journal.
Books
Lyons has written six books for children that focus on aspects of African-American history and culture.
- A Girl Named Misty, The True Story of Misty Copeland, this book tells the story of how young Misty Copeland began to dance, eventually becoming the first African-American principal dancer in American Ballet Theater.
- NEATE: Eddie’s Ordeal, a title in their NEATE chapter book series, tells the story of relationship between a 13-year-old African-American boy who loves to play basketball and his civil rights veteran dad.
- One Million Men and Me was published by Just Us Books in 2007. Illustrated by Peter Ambush, it was inspired by her memories of attending the Million Man March.
- Hope's Gift, illustrated by Don Tate, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
- Teacakes for Tosh was illustrated by E. B. Lewis.
- Ellen’s Broom, illustrated by Daniel Minter, was inspired by a document that the author saw while researching family history in Rockingham County, NC and Henry County, VA.
