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

Michael 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. 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.

Deloris Jordan, mother of the basketball phenomenon, teams up with his sister Roslyn to tell this heartwarming and inspirational story that only the members of the Jordan family could tell. It’s a tale about faith and hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books A picture-book winner.

Boston Herald [A] slam-dunk effort.

Chicago magazine An inspiring piece of Jordaniana.

Kirkus Reviews Soul-satisfying.

Miami Herald The power of myth-in-the-making.

Deloris Jordan is Michael Jordan’s mother and the coauthor of Salt in His Shoes, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, which Booklist called “inspirational;” Did I Tell You I Love You Today?, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, which was called “a tender read-aloud” by Kirkus Reviews; and Dream Big. She is also the author of Family First: Winning the Parenting Game, a book highlighting the seven principles of parenting. Through her work with the James Jordan Foundation in Chicago, Illinois, as well as the Jordan Institute for Families at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mrs. Jordan is widely regarded as an advocate for children and families. The mother of five children and the grandmother of eleven, Mrs. Jordan lives in Chicago.

Roslyn M. Jordan is Michael Jordan’s sister and the coauthor, with Deloris Jordan, of Salt in His Shoes and Did I Tell You I Love You Today? She lives in Chicago.

Kadir Nelson is an award-winning American artist whose works have been exhibited in major national and international publications, institutions, art galleries, and museums. Nelson is the illustrator of many beloved, award-winning, and bestselling picture books including, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, winner of the Coretta Scott King and Robert F. Sibert Award;  Thunder Rose, written by Jerdine Nolen, which received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award;  Ellington Was Not a Street, written by Ntozake Shange, which received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award;  Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life, written by Jerdine Nolen, which won the 2005 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal; and  Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli called “stunning” by Kirkus Reviews in a starred review. He is also the illustrator of Deloris Jordan and Roslyn M. Jordan’s  Salt in His Shoes and Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee’s  Please, Baby, Please and  Please, Puppy, Please. Kadir Nelson lives in Los Angeles.