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 raises awareness of Black children's book creators and features author and illustrator spotlights.

Personal

Lyons was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. As a high-school student, Lyons loved the works of Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison 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 Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. Lyons attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, 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 ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

'', ''

The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...

'', and the ''

Syracuse Herald-Journal The ''Syracuse Herald-Journal'' (1925–2001) was an evening newspaper in Syracuse, New York, United States, with roots going back to 1839 when it was named the ''Western State Journal''. The final issue — volume 124, number 37,500 — was publi ...

''.

Awards and honors

Three of Lyon's books are

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

selections: ''Ellen's Broom'' (2012), ''Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon'' (2020), and ''Miles Lewis: King of the Ice'' (2022).

Selected texts

Lyons has written more than a dozen books for children that focus on aspects of African-American history and culture, including: *''A Girl Named Misty, The True Story of Misty Copeland'', this book tells the story of how young

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Ameri ...

began to dance, eventually becoming the first African-American principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre. *''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 The Million Man March was a large gathering of African-American men in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1995. Called by Louis Farrakhan, it was held on and around the National Mall. The National African American Leadership Summit, a leading ...

. *''Hope's Gift,'' illustrated by

Don Tate Don Tate (born December 21, 1963) is an American author and illustrator of books for children. He is also an activist promoting racial and cultural inclusiveness in children's literature. He notes that as a child he had to read the encyclopedia ...

, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

. *''Tea Cakes for Tosh'' was illustrated by E. B. Lewis. *''Ellen’s Broom'', illustrated by

Daniel Minter Daniel Minter (born 1961, Ellaville, Georgia) is an African-American artist and educator working in painting, sculpture, illustration, assemblage, and public art. Education Minter received his A.A. from Art Institute of Atlanta. In 2019, he re ...

, was inspired by a document that the author saw while researching family history in Rockingham County, NC and Henry County, VA. *''

Going Down Home with Daddy ''Going Down Home with Daddy'' is a 2019 picture book written by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Daniel Minter. It tells the story of a young boy who attends a large family reunion at his great-grandmother's house and struggles to prepa ...

'' (2019), illustrated by

References

External links

The Brown Bookshelf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Kelly Starling 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women African-American children's writers African-American women writers American children's writers American non-fiction children's writers American women children's writers Living people Syracuse University alumni Writers from Pittsburgh Year of birth missing (living people)