Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

It would be hard to find someone on this planet who has not heard of the famous NBA superstar Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Even without knowing his basketball stats, Nike made MJ a household name and his Air Jordans the envy of every kid with a basketball and a dream.

However, there are things about Michael Jordan that are known only to his family, and one of those stories was beautifully told in the children’s picture book Salt in His Shoes (2000, Scholastic) written by Jordan’s own mother Deloris and sister Roslyn, illustrated by American artist Kadir Nelson, who won the Caldecott for his illustrations in The Undefeated written by Newberry and Caldecott winner Kwame Alexander.

As the story goes, Jordan was too short to play basketball with the “big boys,” his older brothers and friends. Even though his skills were good, he was just too short to get the ball around them, especially his nemesis Mark, the tallest and meanest of them all. 

Young Michael turns to his mother for advice, while she is seasoning a chicken for dinner. “Mama, how can I grow taller?” he asks. She tells him they will put salt in his shoes each night after he says his prayers. Salt? Really? But, each night Michael obediently kneels to pray and his mother sprinkles salt in his shoes, saying her own silent prayer over each of her children as they sleep.

Michael stops trying to play with the big boys and instead trains and practices every free moment. When he doesn’t grow any taller, he turns to his father for advice. “Daddy” Jordan wisely counsels him that everything he needs to succeed is already inside of him as he taps him on his chest. While Michael doesn’t grow any taller (yet), his skills continue to improve and he becomes good enough to play with the big boys, even though he has still not had a growth spurt. 

When he hits the winning shot in a neighborhood game, his brothers praise him and allow him his moment to shine. Michael continues to work hard at his sport, developing to its fullest every ounce of talent that God has given him.

This short picture book encompasses many strong literary themes, such as coming of age, love, man vs. man, determination, perseverance, and hope. The illustrations are glorious, while both enhancing and advancing the narrative. 

The love and encouragement demonstrated by Michael’s parents and siblings, along with his strong work ethic, are what made Michael continue on in his beloved basketball. His mother and father taught him to work hard for what he wanted, not to give up, and to pray for God’s help in his endeavors. His parents, by their actions in this story, show that they are “the salt of the earth,” an idiom which compares salt—once the most valuable of natural resources because of its ability to preserve meat from spoiling long before refrigeration—to someone with good character and morals. His father and mother made Michael Jordan the superstar he became, once he grew to be 6’6” tall.

It is through this story, shared by his own mother and sister, that young children and readers of all ages can learn to set goals, work hard, and accomplish whatever they desire. 

Pair this picture book with Kwame Alexander’s novels-told-in-verse The Crossover and Rebound for a deeper connection of the role that parents play in the development of the character of their children, whether they are destined for superstardom or not.