Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and the Secret Mud That Changed Baseball

David A. Kelly

Jan 2014 · Millbrook Press ™

About this ebook

Lena Blackburne loved baseball. He watched it, he played it, he coached it. But he didn't love the ways players broke in new baseballs. Tired of soggy, blackened, stinky baseballs, he found a better way. Thanks to a well-timed fishing trip and a top-secret mud recipe, Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud was born. For seventy-five years, baseball teams have used Lena's magic mud to prepare baseballs before every game. Read the story of how Lena's mud went from a riverbank to the major leagues and all the way to the Hall of Fame.

About the author

David A. Kelly is an established children's book author, travel writer, and technology analyst. After years of working with technology companies, David starting writing travel stories for the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and many other newspapers. When he became too busy playing baseball with his two sons to travel, he started writing children's books. His first book, Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse, tells the true story of Babe Ruth and the curse of the Bambino. His Ballpark Mysteries series of chapter books follows cousins Mike and Kate to different major league ballparks to solve a mystery.Miracle Mud is his first picture book. It's a good bet that his next book might be baseball-related as well! David lives 15 minutes from Boston's Fenway Park in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife Alice, two sons, Steven and Scott, and a dog named Samantha. For more information, visit David's webpage – www.davidakelly.com or his Ballpark Mysteries website – www.ballparkmysteries.com.

Oliver Dominguez was born and raised in Miami. He has illustrated multiple pictures books, including Miracle Mud (2013). He lives in Florida with his wife, two dogs, and a collection of unique hats. Visit him online at cargocollective.com/oliverdominguez.