‘A Glove of Their Own’
What began as a vision and dream, became a 24/7 labor of love for Bob Salomon of Howell, New Jersey. A year and a half later, this labor of love has touched the lives of many people across the country.
A father and former little league coach, Salomon has been the driving force behind the efforts to publish and promote A Glove of Their Own, a heart-warming book about the innocence of kids playing baseball in the park. However, the message and vision go far beyond the book itself. The book aims to teach children the value of sharing what you have with those in need.
“For every book sold we donate $3.30,” Salomon said. “The whole theme of the book is giving and we use baseball as the vehicle to give.”
Involved with the book are now 40 charities and non-profits. The charities receive three dollars for every book sold, while the non-profits, who are geared to providing sports equipment for kids, receive $.30 for each book that is sold.
“I look for charities that have to deal with children, because they’re the whole passion behind the book,” Salomon said.
Despite the current success of the book, things were not too easy at the beginning.
“Getting the book published was a whole ordeal, but I finally convinced someone that I had a winner on my hands and found someone who believed in the whole package of giving back.” Salomon said.
The book was published seven months ago by Franklin Mason Press, who use many of their other books as a vehicle to donate to charities as well.
A Glove of Their Own is a children’s book that depicts a group of kids as they play baseball in a park. The kids use sticks for bases and draw the score in the dirt. An old man watches the kids play baseball and brings them some equipment to use, with a tear in his eye, as he remembered the days when he played the game as a kid.
Not everyone in the book has a glove to play with, but with the help and success of the book, far fewer children will be without a glove of their own.
Brilliantly illustrated, the book is perfect for any family that reads to their kids before bed, or simply anyone who wants to give back to a worthy cause.
Anyone interested in joining the cause or ordering a copy of the book can go to the official website www.agloveoftheirown.com. The website provides a unique experience for its visitors who want to contribute. Use the charity code BLC 114 and $3.00 will be donated to the Grand Slam We Care Foundation, the official charity of the Lakewood BlueClaws.
“When you go to the site and buy the book, there’s a drop-down menu to choose where you’d like the extra three dollars to go to,” Salomon said. “I want these charities to get big checks, so I’m really forcing the website.”
With a number of media outlets and professional athletes involved, the A Glove of Their Own vision is taking off, but for Salomon, the journey doesn’t end here. “I want this book to be No. 1 in the country,” he said. “It will not be a one hit wonder either, this book is going to be a classic.”
In the future, Salomon will continue to keep working to promote A Glove of Their Own but also mentioned that a new book will be coming in the future with a focus on football.
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March 4th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Thanks to Lakewood BlueClaws for being part of the support team that surrounds “A GLOVE OF THEIR OWN”.I am so grateful for all the emails and support from everyone thru out the country ,especially my home state N.J.-Thanks to all!!
Bob Salomon
email-agototellus@aol.com
http://www.agloveoftheirown.com
732-604-046
March 4th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
A Glove of Their Own is an absolute must read for anyone interested in sports. It dispalys what sports and baseball should be all about, and you will want to read it more than once. The illustrations are fantastic and it will bring back great memories for all. Top that off with a great mission statement the book has and you can’t go wrong.
March 5th, 2009 at 6:13 am
I think we need more books like this in the world for kids. Its nice to see more positive things for children to grow up to unlike what most kids are getting used to in life. For example, soending hours on video games, tv, internet, yet they should pick up a book especially one like this.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Howell South Little League is lucky and proud to have a coach like Bob Salomon. The idea of this book is to “pay it forward” and if everyone strives to do that we will have a better world for our children. I encourage everyone to buy a copy of A Glove of Their Own and read it to their children.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:14 am
A Glove of Their Own takes you back to being a child, and your early passion for the game.
The message contained in the feel good story is priceless! And for once, the person pushing the message doesn’t just talk about it, he lives it….
March 5th, 2009 at 11:56 am
A Glove of Their Own embodies our childlike innocence. Have you had trouble finding your shadow lately? Take a step back and flashback to your childhood when the game was innocent and the fans watching and participating were helpful and not at each others throats. This book doesn’t make baseball this book IS baseball! This isn’t just a children’s book to pass of this is a children’s book that is needed to be read BY EVERYONE!!! Go to iFungo.com purchase a glove of $100 or more and you will receive a complimentary book from us at iFungo. Make sure in the order message you write “BlueClaws” and the Blue Claws charity will receive credit. This baseball community is a very tight nit group and everyone that can, needs to be a part of this wonderful story.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Thanks Bob for putting this together, and thanks everyone for commenting.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Has become my favorite book after reading it to my children.
March 10th, 2009 at 5:01 am
It’s a great book. With some excellent illustrations too. More than worth the investment.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:12 am
A great book for kids and a great way to help programs all around the country! We have them available for our clients in our store so that our kids are encouraged to give back to their communities.
March 25th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
I ordered copies for all of my friends and their kids love it! Great story and superb illustrations!
April 16th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Great book! My 3rd grader has read this book a number of times and absolutely loves it. The first time a friend of mine read it she actually had to fight back a tear. Great job…Keep it going…
August 7th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Fantastic book. Excellently written interview. I would like to ask permission to reprint it on my blog with a link back to this site. I have two copies that I would like to give away on the blog to promote the book and mission. Thank you, Andrea aka @HolisticMom on Twitter