Baby Blessings: A Prayer for the Day You Are Born

by Deloris Jordan, James E. Ransome (Illustrator)

Overview

This touching story from bestselling author Doloris Jordan celebrates the blessings new parents wish for their babies all through their lives. With a strong emphasis on the bonds families share, the inspirational text is accompanied by exquisite art from renowned illustrator James E. Ransome. From infancy to adulthood, there is always a place for Baby Blessings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416953623
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	01/26/2010
Series:	Paula Wiseman Books
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	500,706
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD430L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 Months to 2 Years

About the Author

Deloris Jordan is Michael Jordan’s mother and the coauthor of Salt in His Shoes and Michael’s Golden Rules, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; Did I Tell You I Love You Today?, illustrated by Shane W. Evans; and Dream Big, illustrated by Barry Root. 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 R. 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.

James E. Ransome’s highly acclaimed illustrations for Before She Was Harriet received the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. His other award-winning titles include the Coretta Scott King winner The Creation; Coretta Scott King Honor Book Uncle Jed’s Barbershop; Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt; and Let My People Go, winner of the NAACP Image Award. He frequently collaborates with his wife, author Lesa Cline-Ransome. One of their recent titles is Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams, which received four starred reviews and was an ALA Notable Children’s Book. James is a professor and coordinator of the MFA Illustration Graduate Program at Syracuse University. He lives in New York’s Hudson River Valley region with his family. Visit James at JamesRansome.com.

Editorial Reviews

04/27/2015
In Jordan's (Did I Tell You I Love You Today?) latest, an African-American mother and father express their promises and hopes for their newborn son in the form of a blessing: "You will always be loved with a love that knows no bounds. You will touch the world in your own special way. We pray that you will always be kind." Under their loving and watchful eyes, the boy matures into a kindergartner, and by the book's end, he's also become a big brother (astute readers will notice that the mother's tummy starts growing at the book's midpoint). Ransome's (Sky Boys) rich oil palette adds some emotional heft, helping Jordan's pedestrian sentiments ("Always strive to do you best") feel a little bigger than they actually are. But his vignettes feel predictable and Pollyannish—a butterfly alights near the toddler as his mother looks on as she tends the garden; the parents sit side-by-side on the boy's bed, book in hand, as he gazes out at the night sky—as if they were the "do" examples in an inordinately upbeat parenting book. All ages. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly