Granderson's book has a great message

I was at a book sale at the library today and spotted a copy of this, which I grabbed. It is honestly one of my favorite children's books. Most of my favorites are traditional bedtime stories with colorful artwork that involve animals and hugs and words that rhyme.

This book, All You Can Be: Dream It, Draw It, Become It by Curtis Granderson offers great advice to young kids and teens about being successful, handling peer pressure, hard work and priorities. Granderson is a professional athlete, who currently plays in the major leagues as an outfielder for the New York Yankees. He also happens to be a graduate of the high school here in my town. I've seen first hand how much he does to give back and he is quite an inspiration to young and old.

When I first got a copy of the book a couple years ago, I wanted the boys to all read it. Since I admit I have slacked on reading together since my youngest one learned to read, I decided we could read it at dinner time when everyone is at the table. Each night one of the boys would read a chapter out loud and we'd all listen. When it was finished, they liked the routine so much that we went through it a second time.

It's a short book that older kids can get through quickly, but I really enjoyed having all the kids read it together and reading it over several days. The book also contains drawings done by fourth-graders that the kids enjoyed looking at.

The hardcover book is available on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/All-You-Can-Be-Become/dp/1600782477.