Michael Jordan, a house name, is esteemed as the greatest basketball player of all time, or at least a measure of, but he wasn’t always the best player on the court. Deloris Jordan's, "Salt in His Shoe", tells a mother’s tale of her son’s (Michael Jordan) early difficulties on the court and his youthful hopes of growing taller and stronger to become a better basketball player. As alluded to in the title, Jordan's acts on his dreams of growing taller through his mother’s guidance by putting salt in his shoes and saying his prayers every night. Although there’s said to be some sort of “magic’ behind putting salt in his shoes, the real magic is in young Jordan’s hard-work, determination, and faith as we see his persistence to follow his passion and dream. This book, intended for children, is simply written and includes great illustrations, making for a perfect children’s book as they can easily comprehend the messages of never giving up on dreams and the importance of hard work and patience when following your dreams. The idea of following your dreams is very relevant in these early childhood years as these are the years when dreams begin, and who better to follow and learn from than one of the most well-known and idolized athletes ever. I think Jordan’s mother��s choice to use her son’s story to inspire other children is very admirable and is an awesome example of the effect these stars can have off the court. Overall great book, highly recommend as a book to read to children, but is suited as an awesome read for all ages!

Michael Jordan’s mother and sister team up for this heartwarming and inspirational picture book about faith and hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true. very inspirational

This book, written by Michael Jordan's mom and sister, tells the story of how Michael's mom encouraged him when he was young and worried that he wouldn't ever grow taller or be able to play basketball with the bigger kids. Meaningful and inspiring story.

There's not much to this one. Because either you grow tall or you don't. Well presumably you also need to eat well. But this shows desire and drive and encouragement and support. And the art is pretty good too,

In this childhood biography about Michael Jordan, we learn just one small but memorable story before his basketball success. Michael plays basketball at the park with his brothers and other neighborhood kids, but he is continuously bullied by one individual for his height. This causes Michael to become distraught and frustrated. When he asks his mother how he a grow taller, she encourages him to put salt in shoes, pray, and be patient. Though young Michael does all these things, he still doesn't grow as quickly as he would like. He takes matters into his own hands and stays back from the park to practice on his own. When he finally returns to the park, he is still given a hard time by the same bully, but Michael's hard work paid off even though he hadn't grown. His confidence becomes a great part of his success, which is a great message for young children and athletes who set goals from themselves. In this book we see a glimpse into a small struggle of Michael Jordan's childhood. He is many children's idol and I think it is always a great message and lesson for children to learn more about their idol's past, before they make it big. Overall, I really enjoyed this beautifully illustrated children's book.

This book was historical fiction. I read it to my sixth graders and decided to tie in making goals, or new years resolutions. The book was nice because although Michael Jordan's goal of getting taller was out of his control, the book showed how he persisted and practiced to get better at basketball anyways. It helped show my students how to still work for their goals even if they seem out of reach. I enjoyed that the book did not use all of standard English as well.

teaches to persevere and to never give up on your dreams; relatable especially to those involved in sports

This story is written and illustrated about Michael Jordan's childhood. He enjoyed playing basketball, but wanted to get better by growing taller. His parents encouraged him to stay determined and work hard to get better. Michael Jordan then became a great professional basketball player. This story is perfect to show students that hard work and perseverance will help them achieve your goals.

One year ago I added this to my “Picture Books to Read” shelf, despite not having thought much at all about basketball or MJ in decades! A year and pandemic later, we’ve watched Space Jam as a fam, my hubs and I watched the Michael Jordan documentary on ESPN, and now the fourth grader is doing a book report on MJ. This was a cute story and a good reinforcement to practice and pray.

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. That’s when his mother and father stepped in and shared the invaluable lesson of what really goes into the making of a champion—patience, determination, and hard work. The intended audience is 5-10 years and preschool-3rd grade. I selected this book because this will teach students that practice makes perfect. The more you practice, the better you will be at it. I also selected this text to encourage students to not lose hope and that it takes time to get goodat something.

Michael Jordan is a household name for his contribution to the sports world, especially basketball. Written by his mother and sister, this book tells the story of a young Michael who wanted to grow taller to become a better basketball player and stop being teased by one of the taller boys on the court. With his mother's advice to put salt in his shoes, say a prayer each night and be patient, Michael did just that for months. When this didn't work and he continued to feel discouraged, his father told him that he didn't need to be taller and he was already a winner- he had the right determination, best attitude, and practiced more than anyone else. This was just the pep talk Michael needed to get back on the court and score the winning basket during a game with his older brothers and the boy who teased him. This event was part of a series of events that led Michael Jordan to becoming one of the best basketball players of all time.

I wish I could give this one a 10 out of 10!!! This was a fantastic nonfiction book! Gosh I was the biggest Michael Jordan fan ever!!! I remember back in middle school when I wrote a report on him! I stumbled across this book written by his mom and family. Who would ever thought Michael Jordan would of struggled with anything! Michael would always tag along with his bothers to play basketball. Mind you Michael was the littlest one. Mark a kid that he would play against was so much bigger and taller than him. The game ended with another lose. Michael kept telling his brothers if I was just a little taller we could win. Michael walks in with a long face. His mom said, "Ya'll lost again, huh?" Michael replied back to his mom, "If only I was taller." She happened to be holding the salt shaker. She told him that night if he'd sprinkle salt in his shoes and say a prayer then he'd grow taller. He looked very confused, but he always listened to his mother. He started doing what she said. However there wasn't much difference from day to day. Do we use tactics like these to encourage our students? Sometimes our kiddos think we always have a way to fix things, but sometimes they'll find if they dig deep they really do not need help. They find a way!