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A Gift of Days: The Greatest Words to Live By
The society in which we live has been, and continues to be, inspired by visionaries and heroes from all walks of activists and artists, athletes and writers, inventors and explorers, healers and politicians, musicians and moguls. Our world's visionaries and heroes challenge assumptions, push boundaries, and inspire the ordinary to become extraordinary, thereby shaping our world each and every day.
Starting with January 1 and arranged by birth date, A Gift of Days highlights the words and ideas of 366 noteworthy figures -- including Shakespeare and Steve Jobs, Jackie Robinson and Billie Jean King, Beethoven and Buzz Aldrin, Abraham Lincoln and Maya Angelou, Blessed Mother Teresa and Oprah, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi -- to motivate and inspire readers of all ages to become heroes and mentors themselves, the kind of people who nurture and shape the very best of our culture and society.
With resounding words of wisdom, a stunning selection of portraits, short informative biographies of the visionaries, and an illustrator's note, A Gift of Days celebrates the society of which we're all a part and reminds us that we each have the potential to change the world every day of the year.
Starting with January 1 and arranged by birth date, A Gift of Days highlights the words and ideas of 366 noteworthy figures -- including Shakespeare and Steve Jobs, Jackie Robinson and Billie Jean King, Beethoven and Buzz Aldrin, Abraham Lincoln and Maya Angelou, Blessed Mother Teresa and Oprah, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi -- to motivate and inspire readers of all ages to become heroes and mentors themselves, the kind of people who nurture and shape the very best of our culture and society.
With resounding words of wisdom, a stunning selection of portraits, short informative biographies of the visionaries, and an illustrator's note, A Gift of Days celebrates the society of which we're all a part and reminds us that we each have the potential to change the world every day of the year.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
14 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Alcorn
36 books5 followersStudied in Florence, Italy. Currently lives in Cambridge, New York with his wife Sabina and his two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 22, 2009
Everyone needs a Book of Days; I am a great believer in spending a few moments early in each day reflecting, and I include quotations and those who speak them as worthy of thought.
Having said that, I must add that the artwork here is purely a matter of taste, and I do not find it to mine. However, I do not doubt it is excellently executed, and again, many others would possibly find it suited to their own style.
Especially, I am reminded this is a Book of Days for young people, and I am not one of those, so perhaps my tastes are rather outdated!
The quotations and people selected are outstanding, and would appeal to readers of all ages.
Having said that, I must add that the artwork here is purely a matter of taste, and I do not find it to mine. However, I do not doubt it is excellently executed, and again, many others would possibly find it suited to their own style.
Especially, I am reminded this is a Book of Days for young people, and I am not one of those, so perhaps my tastes are rather outdated!
The quotations and people selected are outstanding, and would appeal to readers of all ages.
July 28, 2011
This book was recommended to me by a teacher friend on Goodreads. Arranged in months and days of the year with famous people and a quote attributed to them marking their birthdays, A GIFT OF DAYS is a quick read that begs to be read over and over and over again. I especially enjoyed the last portion of the book, detailing the important contributions to society that each "contributor" to the book made. I especially enjoyed how the people presented in A GIFT OF DAYS: THE GREATEST WORDS came from all walks of life, cultures, and persuasions.
Marked as a "mentor text," I plan on using many of the quotes in A GIFT OF DAYS with my middle schoolers. Too young to have a definition for themselves but young enough to begin to define themselves (and others); many/most of the quotes in here should make them stop and think. And that's a good thing when you're 13 (or older...) right?
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?
EDITH WHARTON: Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.
JACKIE ROBINSON: A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.
BABE RUTH: Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL: Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.
JANE GOODALL: Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.
COLIN POWELL: If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.
MALCOLM X: A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
MICHAEL J. FOX: One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.
LADY DIANA SPENCER: Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: Courage is grace under pressure.
GARRISON KEILLOR: I think the most un-American thing you can say is, "You can't say that."
ALEX HALEY: In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past, bridge to our future.
BLESSED MOTHER TERESA: If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
SOPHIA LOREN: Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.
MAHATMA GANDHI: An eye for (an) eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
JESSE JACKSON: Amercia is not a blanket woven from one thread, one color, one cloth.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: Hate and force cannot be in just a part of the world without having an effect on the rest of it.
DORIS LESSING: Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.
KURT VONNEGUT JR. We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.
EMILY DICKINSON: Forever is composed of nows.
MARGARET MEAD: Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.
Marked as a "mentor text," I plan on using many of the quotes in A GIFT OF DAYS with my middle schoolers. Too young to have a definition for themselves but young enough to begin to define themselves (and others); many/most of the quotes in here should make them stop and think. And that's a good thing when you're 13 (or older...) right?
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?
EDITH WHARTON: Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.
JACKIE ROBINSON: A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.
BABE RUTH: Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL: Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.
JANE GOODALL: Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.
COLIN POWELL: If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.
MALCOLM X: A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
MICHAEL J. FOX: One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.
LADY DIANA SPENCER: Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: Courage is grace under pressure.
GARRISON KEILLOR: I think the most un-American thing you can say is, "You can't say that."
ALEX HALEY: In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past, bridge to our future.
BLESSED MOTHER TERESA: If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
SOPHIA LOREN: Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.
MAHATMA GANDHI: An eye for (an) eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
JESSE JACKSON: Amercia is not a blanket woven from one thread, one color, one cloth.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: Hate and force cannot be in just a part of the world without having an effect on the rest of it.
DORIS LESSING: Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.
KURT VONNEGUT JR. We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.
EMILY DICKINSON: Forever is composed of nows.
MARGARET MEAD: Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2009
Stephen Alcorn’s latest book is a collaboration between the printmaker and history itself. What discerns one book of quotations from another is the selection; either by subject or, as seen here, by speakers. What makes this collection quite unique is that the speakers have been chosen not for their ethnicity, gender, or profession, but for their ability to inspire an artist such as Alcorn to set his carving knife in motion. As a writer who often takes a notepad to museums and scrawls rapidly between paintings, it’s interesting to see a printmaker prove that a word is worth a thousand colors.
With each portrait reflecting both thought and thinker, the original art almost outshines the quotations. Lennon and McCartney are the Kings of Hearts. James Baldwin stares through eyes like caves. Ray Charles is a fountain of sweat. Nina Simone’s scratched cheeks are the treasure chest where her voice is kept. Billie Holiday’s portrait is an exact replica of her famous wailing profile but for a tear on her cheek and a skull in her hair. Sometimes, that’s all there is between mediocrity and mastery.
Everyone from Michelangelo to Madonna is here, making the readers swim through the classical and the contemporary. For this reason, it is an excellent primer for kids, and Alcorn is a seasoned guide for children in the worlds of art and history. (See I, TOO, SING AMERICA and THE BOOK OF ROCKSTARS.) However, there is no way an adult could dismiss an image of Karl Marx emanating from a smoke stack or the line “…what is done in love is done well” as juvenile.
Many have noted that the book is difficult to categorize and indeed, what it does best of all, simply by example, is question so many of our modern assumptions about art and the arts. Who says Shakespeare fans don’t listen to Johnny Cash? Why do we so rarely see women represented this well in history books? And when did illustration get restricted to children’s literature, no matter how masterful? As Queen Latifah and Gandhi and the other beaming subjects know, "hard to categorize” is a quality necessary for brilliance.
With each portrait reflecting both thought and thinker, the original art almost outshines the quotations. Lennon and McCartney are the Kings of Hearts. James Baldwin stares through eyes like caves. Ray Charles is a fountain of sweat. Nina Simone’s scratched cheeks are the treasure chest where her voice is kept. Billie Holiday’s portrait is an exact replica of her famous wailing profile but for a tear on her cheek and a skull in her hair. Sometimes, that’s all there is between mediocrity and mastery.
Everyone from Michelangelo to Madonna is here, making the readers swim through the classical and the contemporary. For this reason, it is an excellent primer for kids, and Alcorn is a seasoned guide for children in the worlds of art and history. (See I, TOO, SING AMERICA and THE BOOK OF ROCKSTARS.) However, there is no way an adult could dismiss an image of Karl Marx emanating from a smoke stack or the line “…what is done in love is done well” as juvenile.
Many have noted that the book is difficult to categorize and indeed, what it does best of all, simply by example, is question so many of our modern assumptions about art and the arts. Who says Shakespeare fans don’t listen to Johnny Cash? Why do we so rarely see women represented this well in history books? And when did illustration get restricted to children’s literature, no matter how masterful? As Queen Latifah and Gandhi and the other beaming subjects know, "hard to categorize” is a quality necessary for brilliance.
October 29, 2011
This inspirational book shares about 100 pages of pure knowledge and wisdom. One quote for each day of the year. A great way of organizing all the quotes with the wonderful idea of perhaps following each different quote everyday to become a better human being. With different sections for different months of the year like emotion, ambitious, dream, strength and truth. This was for sure a great read with some of my favorite quotes like "A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives". - Jackie Robinson
"I'd rather be hated for who i am than loved for who i'm not". - Kurt Cobain
"Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done". - Amelia Earhart
I picked this book up because of my goal to read books that mean something and that i will hopefully remember for a long time and something with difficulties that also inspires me. This book was perfect! And what better way to get inspired by short, simple but also filled with complexity quotes from people who have achieved success and are now retelling their life stories.
I finished this book because well, inspiration NEVER stops and you could never have too much of anything. Knowledge is good, the more you have the more you won't stop learning about it. Truthfully quotes like this are never ending and just won't bore like maybe reading your favorite book ten times.
I would recommend this to Mr. Gould. He is a very open minded to different ideas and beliefs. With some agreements and disagreements to their thoughts but in the end appreciate the knowledge that some of these people have put out.
"I'd rather be hated for who i am than loved for who i'm not". - Kurt Cobain
"Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done". - Amelia Earhart
I picked this book up because of my goal to read books that mean something and that i will hopefully remember for a long time and something with difficulties that also inspires me. This book was perfect! And what better way to get inspired by short, simple but also filled with complexity quotes from people who have achieved success and are now retelling their life stories.
I finished this book because well, inspiration NEVER stops and you could never have too much of anything. Knowledge is good, the more you have the more you won't stop learning about it. Truthfully quotes like this are never ending and just won't bore like maybe reading your favorite book ten times.
I would recommend this to Mr. Gould. He is a very open minded to different ideas and beliefs. With some agreements and disagreements to their thoughts but in the end appreciate the knowledge that some of these people have put out.
March 22, 2011
This beautiful book is fondly known as "the birthday book" by my students. Artful quotes, one for each day of the year, and beautiful illustrations abound. What makes the design even more special is that each quote used in the book is presented on that person's birthday. Lady Diana Spencer, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Chuck Close, Frida Kahlo, and Satchel Paige are just a few of the memorable people whose quotations are presented. A nice addition to your classroom library, with countless quotations that can be used as both writing and discussion prompts.
March 10, 2010
love this book. ive always loved quotes and thought it was fun to go around with this book and find out student bdays...see what famous person was also born that day and read their quote. students seemed to like it. some famous people are kinda random but it also has more recent people students are familiar with. fun and colorful book
January 4, 2016
This weekend, I wandered the stacks at the Library and found this book in the Children's section. It's filled with inspiration, hope and humor.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews