Catching the Fire: Philip Simmons, Blacksmith

by Mary E. Lyons, Mannie Garcia (Illustrator)

Illustrated with full-color photographs, a profile of a remarkable African-American blacksmith incorporates his own words to trace his life as a nationally renowned artist and exhibit the skills he has honed over the course of eighty years.

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Mary E. Lyons, a former teacher and librarian, became a full-time writer in 1993. She is the author of nineteen books for young readers published by Scribner, Atheneum, Henry Holt, Houghton Mifflin and Oxford University Press.

Born and raised in the American South, Mary Lyons lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband, Paul. Her publications for adults include The Blue Ridge Tunnel: A Remarkable Engineering Feat in Antebellum Virginia (History Press, 2014), The Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad (History Press, 2015), and Slave Labor on Virginia’s Blue Ridge Railroad (History Press, 2020).

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the honor of listening to a lecture given by Mr. Simmons. He is a very humble and gentle man. This book captured his personality very well!