After teaching boys high-school English for 40 years, Mr. Moran leaves them with a story
The tale revolves around a struggling small-town basketball team with a nerdy manager and a Walter Mittyesque coach. Presented with too few players to scrimmage in practice, the manager takes it upon himself to spread the word throughout the school: “We need you on the team.” Four young students appear, diminutive in stature and with scrawny chests, unimpressive at first sight. But with the foursome, and their fleet leader Jesse Crosse, the team first experiences shock, then inspiration and constant surprises. The team bonds, leading to stories that will be retold a very long time in a small, out-of-the-way town. It’s not a long novel; like one’s high school years, it goes by before you know it. Only the message is eternal.

“Like all good allegories, this one is a fast-paced story of universal appeal that has, just below its surface, another even more gripping story which keeps winking at us. The result is also two-fold: a book you’ll love reading and a reading experience you’ll remember for a long time to come.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of The Divine Hours and The Great Emergence, award winning storyteller

“An inspired and uplifting story, Jesse Crosse tells the adventure of a small town high school basketball team as it learns the meaning of excellence and the transformative power of goodness through the example of one extraordinary teammate. Superbly written, Jesse Crosse will find its way into every reader’s heart. Sure to go to film one day. ”
—Frank Butler, President, FADICA
Paperback • $10.00 • 978-1-935166-44-3
192 Pages @ 5.5 x 8.5
E-book • $3.99 • 978-1-935166-45-0
A native of Kirkwood, Missouri, MICHAEL J. MORAN lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his wife, the poet Catherine Moran. Mike Moran first attended Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys-all four years. On the basketball team, he was a point guard. Then, as “Mr. Moran,” he taught English for forty years, also at Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys.