Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream - Salt in His Shoes

The story beautifully presents the security of the warm family and the values they passed on of hard work and hope. The art is beautiful, especially the drawings of the mother. The recipient was a 9 year old girl who is passionate about basketball and loved it. She already had one Michael Jordan biography (which is also great) and she liked this one better.

This book fit perfectly into my young tutee's schema for Michael Jackson and the game of basketball. Before this boy came to read that day I had placed a salt shaker on our work table. When he completed his reading he hurriedly untied and removed his shoes and began shaking salt into them! Now, here is the part that can make grown educators cry: he said that he would be sure to shake salt into his shoes on the day of the PARCC test! What has the science of education come to? We all know the answer to that question: "THE SUITS have taken over!" and have made a real mess of things.

In this book young Michael Jordan dreams of being an amazing basketball player but he feels like he is at a disadvantage because of his height. His mom tells him to put salt in his shoes and pray over night. Over the next pages he works really hard, his game improves and his team wins. He realized it didn't matter that he wasn't tall or if there was salt in his shoes. It was his determination to be better and all the hard work and practice that helped him achieve his dream. This was a great book to discuss with my not so tall 11 year old to help build up his confidence on the court.

This book is a story about how Michael Jordan, the great basketball player, overcame some obstacles to play basketball when he was a chid. Jordan had a love to play ball however a taller kid would bully him on the court because Jordan was not very tall.

One day he told his mom how disappointed he was because he was small and his mother felt very bad for him so she told him that if he put salt in his shoes then he would grow taller. This may sound strange, salt in the shoes, but his mom said this to motivate him, and motivate him it did. He got very excited that he will finally grow taller. The following is an excerpt from the book:

"After that night Michael wore his favorite game shoes everywhere he went, even to church. And he stopped going to the park with his brothers on Saturday. Instead he stayed home and practiced. He wanted to grow a few more inches before he went back to the park."

However, after a few months of doing this he still wasn't growing taller and he was extemly disappointed. Jordan told his dad that if he was taller then he could be a great player. His father replied:

"But you are a great player, son. And you already have everything it takes to be a winner, right in here." Daddy tapped Michael on his chest. "Being taller may help you play a little better, but not as much as practice, determination, and giving your best will. Those are the things that make you a real winner."

To make a long story short, the next time Jordan played ball he overcame the court bully and made the winning shot. It turns out that the salt in his shoes didn't make him a better player, because he wasn't any taller, it was all his love for the sport, motivation and practicing, in the months prior to making the winning shot, that made him a better player.

Incredible story! Kudos to Michael Jordan's mom and sister, who wrote the story, they did a great job. Kadir Nelson drew the pictures, and if you are familiar with his work, is nothing less then amazing. I highly reccommend it! Even as an adult I found it inspiring. It's not for young readers though, more like eight and up.

Thank you for reading my review. I really hope that it has helped you. And may the child who reads it be inspired to follow his dream regardless of the obstacles that lay before them.

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The illustrations alone in this book are amazing! Gorgeous, exciting, inspiring, heartfelt artwork. The writing, too, has heart and love. It's definitely penned with memory and nostalgia and the empathy of a mother. I love that the book shares Michael Jordan's Christian home, all his siblings, his initial discouragement and yet strong commitment and hard work ethic. I love both the example his mother and his father show, how they parent him with encouragement and wisdom. I love seeing the home cooking, the family meals, the bunk beds for brothers... so much of his real daily life, the posters on his walls. And that such a leader in sports was the little brother in the family, the one who had to work harder to keep up with the older boys. A great read aloud.

One might imagine that legendary basketball star Michael Jordan was born with a boatload of confidence. That was not the case. "Salt in His Shoes", written by Jordan's mother Deloris and sister Rosalyn, tells an early chapter in the life of the athlete as he struggles to come to terms with his lack of height. Playing when he could with older brothers Larry and Ronnie, Michael is intimidated by a much taller boy named Mark. Every time that he plays against Mark's team, the Jordan boys lose.
Michael goes home complaining to his mother, wishing that he could be a little taller. Mother tells him that all she has to do is pray and put salt in his shoes. Michael's young mind wonders how the salt can cause him to grow, but he figures that his mother's skill with raising luscious flowers must be attributed to something. Every night he goes to sleep while Mother sprinkles her "magic" into his shoes. However, the boy's growth is slow in coming and he feels more depressed.
Michael's father comforts the boy and tells him that it's not how tall he is but how he uses his skills. This little burst of inspiration is just enough. The next time the Jordan boys tackle Mark's team, they are victorious with Michael scoring the winning points.
Being fans of Michael Jordan can relate to this tale from his early days. It is well documented that Jordan had a strong relationship with his father; however, the book reveals the powerful bond that he also had with his mother. The story shows a nuclear family featuring both parents and siblings, all of them concerned about Michael. This will prove to be an invaluable tool in stressing familial relationships.

I had the privelege of meeting Mrs. Jordan and Roslyn at a recent booksigning in Chicago. To hear both these amazing ladies speak, was inspirational and makes one realize that Michael Jordan's family is also the salt of the earth. Futhermore, in their remarks, they stressed how they are just an ordinary family who happened to raise an extraordinary talent; however, their family was, and continues to be, the source of his strength, determination, and self-confidence. Not only is the story told in "Salt in His Shoes" inspiring to children, it has basic lessons to which a person of any age can relate. The book is wonderfully illustrated, and the text is lively and endearing. How wonderful that Mrs. Jordan and Roslyn shared this family story with us, emphasizing that while Michael was the center of the story, the lessons of the book go beyond Michael Jordan because it is all about family.

This book was about Michael Jordan, the basketball player. As a youth, he wasn't confident about his skills as a player. He was concerned about his height, and he complained to his mother about it. His mother told him to pray and put salt in his shoes. Michael wondered how the salt can cause him to grow. He believed his mother should know how to make him grow, because she had skill in raising flowers. Mother sprinkled salt in his shoes. Michael's growth was slow in coming. He gained his confidence back when he shot the winning points in a basketball game before he grew an inch. Michael grew to reach the height of six-foot-six-inches, and he became a basketball star!

Wow! The illustrations in this book are amazing. I looked through the pages several times to look at the pictures. I think the illustrator did a wonder job drawing the people. The muscles in the arms and legs were the work of a skilled artist! The text is inspiring to young people.

This book has it all. Kadir Nelson's illustrations immediately capture your attention. The cover is representative of the size and quality of pictures throughout the book. I've used this book in my classroom. Kids love it. Both boys and girls enjoy the story of the young Michael Jordan. They relate to going up against the big kid and wanting to change physically (in this case to become taller). Some kids even admit to putting salt in their shoes. The family support in this story provides the direction he needs to accomplish his goal of becoming a great basketball player and becoming the playground hero. Great message, great story, great illustrations. Everyone needs to realize the importance of hard work, determination, and believing in a little Michael Jordan magic. We want to encourage our kids to reach for the stars, and this book helps do that.

I saw Deloris Jordan and Roslyn Jordan interviewed on one of the morning shows and was anxious to get this book and share it with my second graders. I was not disappointed. I'm always looking for real life role models to tell the kids about and Michael Jordan and his determination to achieve his dream really fit the bill. It had so many elements in it that are important for today's kids...ignoring bullies, looking to your families for support, not giving up, keeping your eye on a dream, knowing what you want in life. I hope that my students remember the lessons taught in this fine story and at least begin to learn what can be achieved.

I thought this book was so cute. My boys enjoyed me reading it to them, ages 8 and 10. At night they like me to read a small story to them but not a baby story. This was very cute. I would say best age for this book is 1-4th graders. It is a great story about determination, perserverance, and faith. I thought it was great!

I brought this book into my junior high classroom and had it available for free-reading time. The students had me read it with them, and then would read it with partners during the reading time because it was so popular. I would recommend this for any teacher who is trying to get their students to start really enjoying reading up through the 8th grade. I was able to my students reading even more books and magazines on athletes and sports once they read this book.

This is a wonderful story -- and would be even if it weren't about such a star -- about a scrawny little kid who keeps trying and trying and trying, all the while encouraged by his very loving family. I bought it because I loved the jacket and the illustrations -- but am reading it again and again to my little boy because he always asks to hear it. It's inspiring and funny and just a neat book.