This was one of my favorite childhood books. I have wonderful memories reading this book with my dad. This story of Micheal Jordan's childhood when he almost gave up of his hoop dreams because he feared he'd never grow tall enough to play the game that would one day make him famous. This story has messages of faith, hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true.

A young Michael Jordan is too short to win the game, so he asks mom to help him grow taller. She puts salt in his shoes and tells him to pray every day and eat his vegetables and be patient. He is, but doesn't grow. He continues to practice, and becomes very good. He goes to the park again and wins the game. After that, they don't put salt in his shoes but he continues to pray and to practice, and becomes the best player ever, and 6' 6" tall!

Genre: Biography
Grade Level: 3rd-5th
This story is all about the determination and hard work that goes into being successful at something. I love that Michael Jordan's mom told that putting salt in his shoes would help him to grow taller. Children everywhere recognize the greatness of Michael Jordon and this book will show them the amount of patience and practice it took for him to become the all-star basketball player that he was. I also liked that this book portrays the loving and supporting family that played a big role in encouraging, praying for and teaching Micheal to never give up on your dreams.

Gorgeously rendered oil illustrations by Kadir Nelson complement this engaging narrative about Michael Jordan, written by his mother and sister.

interesting quote:

"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." (p. 23 - unpaged)

I think this story is a fun way to introduce children to biogrpahies. This biography aout Michael Jordan explains how he so badly wanted to be tall like the rest of the boys he played basketball with as a child. He though that being tall would make him good- but he learned that with hard work and practice that he could be great. This is a very inspriational story- one of my favorites. Not to mention the illustrations are amazing.

Written by Michael Jordan's mom, Deloris. The lesson of practice and will to win is more important than your physical self.

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.

If I taught elementary school, this would be a staple in my curriculum

Grades 2-6
Biography
Great book to get students interested who like basketball or sports. Tells about hardships and how it was overcame through perseverance. I would use this in my class if we were doing a unit of study on the theme of perseverance or hardships.

This story was written by Michael Jordan's mother and sister. It tells the story of Jordan before he became a well-known basketball player. The story is about how hard work and determination can make your dreams come true. I also really liked the detailed illustrations of the book.

Very sweet book written by Michael Jordan's mother about his growing up years. My SE students love it.

DescriptionMichael Jordan. The mere mention of the name conjures up visions of basketball played at its absolute best. But as a child, Michael almost gave up on his hoop dreams, all because he feared he'd never grow tall enough to play the game that would one day make him famous.