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.
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, Lyons works to transform moments, memories and history into stories of discovery. Her books include a chapter book, NEATE: Eddie's Ordeal (Just Us Books), and One Million Men and Me (Just Us Books), a picture book that explores the Million Man March through the eyes of a girl who was there with her daddy the day black men made history.
She has two forthcoming picture books with G.P. Putnam's Sons that celebrate family relationships and freedom. Ellen's Broom will debut January 5, 2012. It's illustrated by Daniel Minter. Tea Cakes for Tosh will be released fall 2012 and is illustrated by E.B. Lewis.
