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The Legend of Gravity: A Tall Basketball Tale
In his author-illustrator debut, Charly Palmer spins a tall tale about a neighborhood basketball hero.
Have you ever heard of Gravity? No, not gravity, the centrifugal force pulling us to the Earth. I'm talking about Gravity--the greatest ball player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers.
Gravity is the new kid on the Hillside Projects basketball team, the Eagles. He once jumped so high that his teammates went out for ice cream before he came back down. With Gravity on their side, the Eagles feel unstoppable. They’re ready to win “The Best of the Best,” Milwaukee’s biggest and baddest pick-up basketball tournament. But when they face-off with the Flyers in the final round, the winningest team in the whole city, they realize that it may take a little more than Gravity to bring them to victory.
Have you ever heard of Gravity? No, not gravity, the centrifugal force pulling us to the Earth. I'm talking about Gravity--the greatest ball player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers.
Gravity is the new kid on the Hillside Projects basketball team, the Eagles. He once jumped so high that his teammates went out for ice cream before he came back down. With Gravity on their side, the Eagles feel unstoppable. They’re ready to win “The Best of the Best,” Milwaukee’s biggest and baddest pick-up basketball tournament. But when they face-off with the Flyers in the final round, the winningest team in the whole city, they realize that it may take a little more than Gravity to bring them to victory.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published January 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
September 17, 2022
Update your tall tale collection with this basketball story from the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States.
Basketball fans will also enjoy this one.
Basketball fans will also enjoy this one.
April 16, 2022
This is not a book I’d normally pick up to read. I’m not a basketball fan and I tend to go for the more traditional story. But I read an intriguing review and I’m glad to have found it to borrow at the library. I enjoyed it so much I read it through twice. I saw details the 2nd time that I had missed at the first reading. Exaggeration combines with tall tale about a group of boys playing basketball on the blacktop. My favorite sentence “Gravity once jumped so high that we were able to go out for ice cream before he came down.” A group of boys who “ruled the blacktop” in the projects have their best summer one year because of a new player called Gravity. Not only is he skilled but he makes them believe in themselves. Any elementary or middle school kid who loves basketball should be handed this book.
November 18, 2021
Wow. Award-winning artist Charly Palmer brings street basketball to life in this vivid picture book centered around an almost too good to be true ball player called Gravity. His acrylic work causes the reader to look and then look again before even reading the text. That text is full of the vivid verbs plus figurative and sensory language, that will have ELA teachers grabbing this book to use as a model for their students. Young and not so young kids will feel the movement of players on the basketball court as the illustrations merge with the text seamlessly. This is a must have book for libraries serving readers from Kindergarten to grade 4, higher if using in art and ELA classrooms. Thank you for the digital copy, Mary Van Akin with Macmillan Children’s Publishing.
January 27, 2022
It’s very likely I will be talking about this book all year! The art with its frenetic pacing and bright colors, the lyrical text, the language and tall tale format-it comes together to form an engaging story that will get kids excited. This is a book to give kids who claim that reading is boring-they won’t find anything boring here! The overall message of teamwork is beautiful, but weaved into the story so we’ll that kids won’t even know they’re learning about teamwork. They’ll be too caught up in the adventure and game to care about anything else.
PLEASE make an audiobook of this one! I could hear it in my head and this is a book that needs to be read aloud as you pour over the pictures!
PLEASE make an audiobook of this one! I could hear it in my head and this is a book that needs to be read aloud as you pour over the pictures!
May 13, 2022
My 9 and 12 year olds generally don’t think picture books have much to offer them anymore. For our nightly family read-aloud time we typically read long chapter books instead. I am so glad we made some time for this one. The illustrations are wonderful and the story has humor and inspiration galore. I think, longer term, the takeaway is about the impact we can have on each other, friends and teammates, by seeing and appreciating what everyone has to offer. We are our own and each other’s heroes.
January 20, 2022
Do I have a fun book to introduce you to today, The Legend of Gravity! This book will take you on one high flying basketball adventure after another! The illustrations are rich and vibrant and will be sure to draw any child’s eye. The detail of the game makes you a part of the action. The message of the book is loud and clear and so very important! Thank you to Charly Palmer, Macmillan Children's Publishing, and Story Gram Kids for sending me this tall tale.
March 1, 2022
This story explains basketball on the playground court in simple-to-understand language. What a great book supporting a popular sport, pickup basketball.
The illustrations flow and move all around the court with ease. The colors are bright and positive. Charley Palmer tells a great legend about one great basketball player, Gravity. This is a TALL TALE! And Palmer's illustrations work well together to make for a winning book!
The street names for the playground court b-ball players in this story are delightful. The players know they have always been good but never good enough to win a championship, that is until Gravity appeared one summer! He had this hometown team believing no one could beat them.
As the story goes, the best neighborhood teams meet for a major pickup b-ball tournament at summer’s end. Gravity does a great job against the opposing team, but at halftime he is wearing out, and he tells his teammates what they must do to win the game. It is a message that coaches, and leaders tell players again and again to win games! This book will inspire and encourage readers.
Palmer hopes this timeless story not only will change readers understanding about the game of pickup basketball, but perhaps, it might change people’s lives.
The illustrations flow and move all around the court with ease. The colors are bright and positive. Charley Palmer tells a great legend about one great basketball player, Gravity. This is a TALL TALE! And Palmer's illustrations work well together to make for a winning book!
The street names for the playground court b-ball players in this story are delightful. The players know they have always been good but never good enough to win a championship, that is until Gravity appeared one summer! He had this hometown team believing no one could beat them.
As the story goes, the best neighborhood teams meet for a major pickup b-ball tournament at summer’s end. Gravity does a great job against the opposing team, but at halftime he is wearing out, and he tells his teammates what they must do to win the game. It is a message that coaches, and leaders tell players again and again to win games! This book will inspire and encourage readers.
Palmer hopes this timeless story not only will change readers understanding about the game of pickup basketball, but perhaps, it might change people’s lives.
February 20, 2022
Loved this one! A love letter to all of those basketball players who play with their heart and defeat the odds. A must have!
March 4, 2024
This tall tale is about a young Black basketball player who was given the street name “Gravity” by his playground teammates: “Liquid,” “Left 2 Right,” "Sky High," “Butta,” and “Too Tall,” because he moved so fast and jumped so high that in the words of the storyteller, “He leaped so high that he looked like he was never coming down, like he defied gravity or something.” He was the team's high scorer, but more importantly, in the big city-wide tournament when he became exhausted, he then inspired the team to use their skills and work together to win the big game.
Now it’s told as a tall tale by the fictional character, “Butta.” But, listen to what the man who actually wrote and illustrated this story with some high energy powerful paintings says in his Author’s Note on the last page of the book:
It's been voted the winner of the 2024 Texas Bluebonnet Award.
Now it’s told as a tall tale by the fictional character, “Butta.” But, listen to what the man who actually wrote and illustrated this story with some high energy powerful paintings says in his Author’s Note on the last page of the book:
Now when you hear about players like Gravity, please bear in mind that these stories were passed along by word of mouth. The more often they’re told, the more they become hearsay. When a story begins, “I heard that…blah, blah, blah,” I know they only heard what I saw with my own eyes. In my youth, nobody had mobile phones with cameras, so pictures and videos from that time are rare. Like unicorns and mermaids, people claim to have seen fantastic creatures. But this is no fantasy, and that’s why I wrote this story about what happened that day on the blacktop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It's been voted the winner of the 2024 Texas Bluebonnet Award.
April 1, 2022
Years and years ago in 2006 or so, Patricia McKissack wrote a book for kids that has stayed in my mind ever since. The book was called Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters and it was this marvelous collection of “liars' tales”. Which is to say, tall tales told, in this case, historically in Black communities. Since I read that book, I’ve seen other books for kids sort of touch on the idea of liars' tales or liar’s contests. It’s just interesting to think of them in the context of tall tales. Books like Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen, with art by Kadir Nelson, are far more in the strictly tall tale business. But what happens when a book takes tall tales and liar’s tales and then ties all of that into some of the finer examples of trash talk and blacktop exaggeration? The Legend of Gravity by Charly Palmer is that link. With a deft hand Palmer connects all the different forms of storytelling in our real lives today with the oral traditions of the past.
“In my youth, nobody had mobile phones with cameras, so pictures and videos from that time are rare. Like unicorns and mermaids, people claim to have seen these fantastic creatures. But this is no fantasy, and that’s why I wrote this story about what happened that day on the blacktop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” So says author Charly Palmer in the Author’s note at the end of “The Legend of Gravity”. What fantastic creatures is he referring to? Basketball players, my friend. Not just any players either. Players with skills so incredible, the only way to tell this tale true is to tell it big. On a day when five friends are playing a game on the blacktop, in walks a new kid. He seems a bit gangly. A bit awkward. But when he shows off his abilities in the hopes of a three-on-three game, there can be only one name for him: Gravity. As in, he defies it. With Gravity on their side, the crew is sure they can win the “Best of the Best” Milwaukee pickup basketball tournament. But when push comes to shove, is Gravity all they need? Or do they actually need one another?
This isn’t Charly Palmer’s first picture book, but it is the first book he’s written and illustrated himself. Now it’s always a little worrisome when great illustrators try their hands at writing. In this particular case, put that worry to bed. Apparently, Charly Palmer has been holding out on us all these years. While he was illustrating the books of other people, it turned out that he was hiding his own superior talents. This story is written with such skill and style that I have to be honest and tell you that I really hope he doesn’t illustrate anyone else for a while. Because right from the get-go his book has its voice. Palmer writes things like, “Well, pull up a chair and let me bend your ear for a minute with the legend of Gravity.” Or, “He wore baggy shorts hanging down to his knees. And he had waves so tight it would make you seasick.” This casual tone with details that bite then transitions like butter into the more otherworldly elements of the tale. By the time you get to the ridiculous details (“Gravity once jumped so high that we were able to go out for ice cream before he came down”) you’re so charmed you’ll believe anything the narrator says.
Don’t think the wordplay is doing all the heavy lifting here, though. Palmer had to figure out how to illustrate a lot of the brags, boasts, and outright exaggerations we see in the text. For example, that moment when it says the boys went out for ice cream, you get this really subtle accompanying piece of art. It’s this magnificent shot of Gravity. You're looking down on him from an even higher vantage point so that his head is out of the frame. Meanwhile, down below on the court, if you look at the boys waiting for their friend to descend, they each are holding ice cream cones. It’s subtle but it’s there. A lot of the art in this book is as much what you don’t see as what you do.
Now Charly Palmer has a style that I wouldn’t confuse with anyone else’s. Couldn’t confuse with anyone else’s. We currently live in an era where even the thickest of paints on a page might have been replicated on someone’s tablet. Mr. Palmer, however, is a fine artist to his core. He’s been in the business of painting for thirty years or more, but only recently has he turned his attention to picture books. When you look at his portfolio, you see the sheer range of his style. Now look at The Legend of Gravity and notice what it is that he’s doing with the art. Characters are simplified down to their most essential parts. The brushstrokes suggest whole human beings with as few strokes as possible. Here he has to also show movement and action on the page. The basketball here can’t just feel normal. It has to be just the littlest bit otherworldly to keep up with the text. It’s not a finely honed, highly detailed form of painting, which I dare say is what makes it work as well as it does. It’s like when you have students in an art class do rapid sketches. You’re getting the movement in the figures with as few lines as possible. That’s the feeling I get from Mr. Palmer’s work in this book. Quick strokes. Quicker subject matter.
Tall tales had their day. When I was in elementary school, I think we did a whole unit on them. They were considered important. A great American tradition of some sort. Imagine how much more pertinent they’d feel to kids today if someone was able to tie tall tales into liar’s tales and then into modern exaggerations. Exaggeration makes for good storytelling. The bigger the tale, the better the listen, but why should figures from the past get all the fun? Thanks to books like The Legend of Gravity we can pay homage to the past while making books that kids would actually want to read today. That say something they can not only understand but also root for. Whatever it is that Charly Palmer’s doing here, I’m on board for it. Can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
“In my youth, nobody had mobile phones with cameras, so pictures and videos from that time are rare. Like unicorns and mermaids, people claim to have seen these fantastic creatures. But this is no fantasy, and that’s why I wrote this story about what happened that day on the blacktop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” So says author Charly Palmer in the Author’s note at the end of “The Legend of Gravity”. What fantastic creatures is he referring to? Basketball players, my friend. Not just any players either. Players with skills so incredible, the only way to tell this tale true is to tell it big. On a day when five friends are playing a game on the blacktop, in walks a new kid. He seems a bit gangly. A bit awkward. But when he shows off his abilities in the hopes of a three-on-three game, there can be only one name for him: Gravity. As in, he defies it. With Gravity on their side, the crew is sure they can win the “Best of the Best” Milwaukee pickup basketball tournament. But when push comes to shove, is Gravity all they need? Or do they actually need one another?
This isn’t Charly Palmer’s first picture book, but it is the first book he’s written and illustrated himself. Now it’s always a little worrisome when great illustrators try their hands at writing. In this particular case, put that worry to bed. Apparently, Charly Palmer has been holding out on us all these years. While he was illustrating the books of other people, it turned out that he was hiding his own superior talents. This story is written with such skill and style that I have to be honest and tell you that I really hope he doesn’t illustrate anyone else for a while. Because right from the get-go his book has its voice. Palmer writes things like, “Well, pull up a chair and let me bend your ear for a minute with the legend of Gravity.” Or, “He wore baggy shorts hanging down to his knees. And he had waves so tight it would make you seasick.” This casual tone with details that bite then transitions like butter into the more otherworldly elements of the tale. By the time you get to the ridiculous details (“Gravity once jumped so high that we were able to go out for ice cream before he came down”) you’re so charmed you’ll believe anything the narrator says.
Don’t think the wordplay is doing all the heavy lifting here, though. Palmer had to figure out how to illustrate a lot of the brags, boasts, and outright exaggerations we see in the text. For example, that moment when it says the boys went out for ice cream, you get this really subtle accompanying piece of art. It’s this magnificent shot of Gravity. You're looking down on him from an even higher vantage point so that his head is out of the frame. Meanwhile, down below on the court, if you look at the boys waiting for their friend to descend, they each are holding ice cream cones. It’s subtle but it’s there. A lot of the art in this book is as much what you don’t see as what you do.
Now Charly Palmer has a style that I wouldn’t confuse with anyone else’s. Couldn’t confuse with anyone else’s. We currently live in an era where even the thickest of paints on a page might have been replicated on someone’s tablet. Mr. Palmer, however, is a fine artist to his core. He’s been in the business of painting for thirty years or more, but only recently has he turned his attention to picture books. When you look at his portfolio, you see the sheer range of his style. Now look at The Legend of Gravity and notice what it is that he’s doing with the art. Characters are simplified down to their most essential parts. The brushstrokes suggest whole human beings with as few strokes as possible. Here he has to also show movement and action on the page. The basketball here can’t just feel normal. It has to be just the littlest bit otherworldly to keep up with the text. It’s not a finely honed, highly detailed form of painting, which I dare say is what makes it work as well as it does. It’s like when you have students in an art class do rapid sketches. You’re getting the movement in the figures with as few lines as possible. That’s the feeling I get from Mr. Palmer’s work in this book. Quick strokes. Quicker subject matter.
Tall tales had their day. When I was in elementary school, I think we did a whole unit on them. They were considered important. A great American tradition of some sort. Imagine how much more pertinent they’d feel to kids today if someone was able to tie tall tales into liar’s tales and then into modern exaggerations. Exaggeration makes for good storytelling. The bigger the tale, the better the listen, but why should figures from the past get all the fun? Thanks to books like The Legend of Gravity we can pay homage to the past while making books that kids would actually want to read today. That say something they can not only understand but also root for. Whatever it is that Charly Palmer’s doing here, I’m on board for it. Can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
April 29, 2022
I've never seen a pick-up game, three-on-three, whatever it's called, yet now I think I know more than I did before I read Charly Palmer's book, an ode to those legends that he and many others knew. They were those that rarely, if ever, made it to the NBA or other BIG games, but they were stars. Be sure to get this book, to read and love the names and the energy Palmer has so lovingly put into his swirling, whirling, dribbling, dunking paintings. Meet Gravity, Sky High, Liquid, and Left 2 Right and how they went about their business of winning. I imagine there are many young players out there that will love it and many old players who will remember all that is told! I'm happy I had the fun watching, even in a picture book! It's great!
January 17, 2022
Fantastic! A tall tale, taking place in Milwaukee (!), of a basketball legend. Charly Palmer is one of my favorite Black kidlit illustrators, and this is his first book he has authored also. It is sure to become a classic in elementary libraries with its multiple entry points and pure energy and message.
Use in themed sets with tall tales/legends, Black excellence, basketball/sports, teamwork/cooperation, making assumptions, community building, or neighborhoods.
Pair with I Got Next, Salt in His Shoes, Dream Big, Long Shot, B is for Baller, Allie's Basketball Dream, & More Than Just a Game.
Use in themed sets with tall tales/legends, Black excellence, basketball/sports, teamwork/cooperation, making assumptions, community building, or neighborhoods.
Pair with I Got Next, Salt in His Shoes, Dream Big, Long Shot, B is for Baller, Allie's Basketball Dream, & More Than Just a Game.
February 9, 2025
The name of the book is the first thing that caught my eye. The cover art is inspirational as it shows a young black boy holding a basketball in space and planets in the background. As a soccer coach, I really loved how this book focused on team work as well as individual talent. I could see myself reading this out loud to my class to teach them how teamwork and helping each other is an important part of learning and life. I can also imagine reading this 1 on 1 or in small groups to inspire confidence in kids that may not believe in their own talents.
January 19, 2022
During our morning reading time we read The Legend of Gravity by Charly Palmer. This was such a fun tale of 6 boys summer playing ball. But the overwhelming message of teamwork was great. I loved how Gravity made each of his teammates feel important and an equal part of the team. This is a clever, energetic story about the unsung superstars walking among us, complete with vivid art and heartfelt themes of teamwork, loyalty, friendship, and fun.
February 1, 2023
“I can’t win this game,” Gravity said. “But WE CAN.”
Teamwork makes the dream work.
—
The illustrations will mesmerize you! The story has suspense that builds to a satisfying climax. The characters all have nicknames associated with their strengths in basketball. Inspiring story of those who were great but are not as well-known because they weren’t in the NBA. Great picture book for a read aloud!
Teamwork makes the dream work.
—
The illustrations will mesmerize you! The story has suspense that builds to a satisfying climax. The characters all have nicknames associated with their strengths in basketball. Inspiring story of those who were great but are not as well-known because they weren’t in the NBA. Great picture book for a read aloud!
March 20, 2023
This story honors the basketball legends that don't become stars or NBA players with national fam but rather the ones that are larger than life legends in their own communities. It also demonstrates how legends and tall tales spread. A great sports picture book! I can never have enough. The blurriness of the illustration capture the movement and the idea that there were no photos or videos of Gravity. This is from memory.
May 13, 2022
This was such a fun book - I loved this style of storytelling that is a little bit classic tall tale and a little bit contemporary. The art - choices of colors and the movement - really adds to the text and then the overall message of teamwork and making an impression by inspiring others lands well without being overly simplistic.
September 18, 2022
This is such a shining example of how art can enhance storytelling! Every page flows with movement, every brush stroke visible, whipping the reader from page to page as the pace of the story accelerates. A modern "tall tale" with a message of teamwork and leading by celebrating the strengths of others.
January 8, 2023
Excellent book for anyone who loves basketball with a lesson about teamwork, but especially young men of color who may see themselves in this story. This interesting and relevant book with colorful, engaging illustrations will build vocabulary in kids with lines like this..."audacious interruptions"...
January 19, 2024
5⭐️ I enjoyed reading this book. It is an homage to street ball and the players who never shine under the lights in an arena, but shine nonetheless. The book is full of action and joy. I especially loved the illustration style and rich colors. A great book for basketball lovers or reluctant readers.
October 8, 2021
Thank you so very much to the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the advanced electronic copy of this wonderful book! This is a great read aloud about the power of teamwork that I cannot wait to share with my students.
January 30, 2022
A contemporary tall tale! Kids in the ‘hood are playin’ game with their new friend, “Gravity”. He doesn’t hog the ball though his moves are smooth. Instead, he shares the limelight with the whole team: Liquid, Left 2 Right, Sky High, Too Tall and Butta. Game doesn’t get much better than this!
March 3, 2022
This picture book is fantastic. Not just for the younger picture book crowd; upper elementary will love it, too. The art is stunning and the action of the story is irresistible. The author-illustrator has jam packed 40 pages with the heart of streetball.
November 13, 2022
There is just enough street slang that younger children who are not sports fans may find this a bit difficult to decode.
A new kid on the block wants to join a local pickup game of basketball. After seeing his skillset, they ask him to join their team, give him a street name (Gravity), and lead the group to a team to a winning session.
Palmer's first time out as author/illustrator is a resounding success. Keep your eye on the ball as it bounces around each page showing the moves each boy has/makes. The text is snappy and reads as if called by a sports commentator.
Not your average tall tale, as this one is set in contemporary times in an activity that kids regularly play. Themes of basketball, friendship, and teamwork are strong in this book.
Recommended for grades Pre-5.
A new kid on the block wants to join a local pickup game of basketball. After seeing his skillset, they ask him to join their team, give him a street name (Gravity), and lead the group to a team to a winning session.
Palmer's first time out as author/illustrator is a resounding success. Keep your eye on the ball as it bounces around each page showing the moves each boy has/makes. The text is snappy and reads as if called by a sports commentator.
Not your average tall tale, as this one is set in contemporary times in an activity that kids regularly play. Themes of basketball, friendship, and teamwork are strong in this book.
Recommended for grades Pre-5.
September 22, 2023
Keywords: Basketball, Street Ball, African American.
The newest member of the Eagles basketball team from Hillside Projects is named Gravity. He once leaped so far that before he came down, everyone around him went out for ice cream. The Eagles feel invincible because Gravity is on their side. They are prepared to win in "The Best of the Best," which is the biggest pick-up basketball tournament in Milwaukee. However, they find that they might need a bit more than Gravity to carry them to victory when they play the Flyers in the championship game, the city's most successful team.
The most obvious literary element is the narrator. The story is told in the lens of “Butta” nickname given to her by Gravity. None of the characters were given real names in this story.
The newest member of the Eagles basketball team from Hillside Projects is named Gravity. He once leaped so far that before he came down, everyone around him went out for ice cream. The Eagles feel invincible because Gravity is on their side. They are prepared to win in "The Best of the Best," which is the biggest pick-up basketball tournament in Milwaukee. However, they find that they might need a bit more than Gravity to carry them to victory when they play the Flyers in the championship game, the city's most successful team.
The most obvious literary element is the narrator. The story is told in the lens of “Butta” nickname given to her by Gravity. None of the characters were given real names in this story.
March 9, 2022
"I can't win this game. But WE can."
He showed up on the court one day, asking to join them in a three-on-three. He didn't even have a playground name like Liquid, Sky High, Left 2 Right, and Too Tall, but boy could he play the game of basketball! He quickly earned the name Gravity because he looked like he could defy gravity.
"We had always been good, but we had never won a championship." But with Gravity on their team, things were about to change. "Truth be told, he was often a one-man show." But when it comes to the championship game, it's going to take the whole team if they are going to beat the East Side Flyers and claim the championship.
Should be popular with students who love the game of basketball.
He showed up on the court one day, asking to join them in a three-on-three. He didn't even have a playground name like Liquid, Sky High, Left 2 Right, and Too Tall, but boy could he play the game of basketball! He quickly earned the name Gravity because he looked like he could defy gravity.
"We had always been good, but we had never won a championship." But with Gravity on their team, things were about to change. "Truth be told, he was often a one-man show." But when it comes to the championship game, it's going to take the whole team if they are going to beat the East Side Flyers and claim the championship.
Should be popular with students who love the game of basketball.
March 4, 2022
A clever and energetic story about teamwork and unsung legends of street ball. Palmer's narrator has the sharp wit of an old head, and the impressionist illustrations often bring his colorful expressions to vivid life. A few standout moments are framed to transport readers into the scene, and the effect is something special. Some of the artwork can be a bit muddy at times, though, and the depictions of actual gameplay were often a bit underwhelming.
February 14, 2023
While I am always happy to read a book by a WI author (Milwaukee) with references to specific locals or events, this book doesn't quite hit the mark for me. At first glance it appears the story is true but then, maybe not? Is it urban legend or courtside exaggeration? In the end it didn't matter because the author throws in a twist, seemingly from no where, and the story ends, satisfactorily if not puzzling.
February 20, 2024
This is a great book! I am thrilled that it won the Bluebonnet Award for 2023.
This is the story of a neighborhood basketball team and the great player, Gravity, that led them to victory. The author did play basketball when he was a kid but acknowledges that any story that begins with "I heard" is possibly more legend than fact.
So the book reinforces teamwork but also provides the groundwork for looking at folklore and legend in literature.
This is the story of a neighborhood basketball team and the great player, Gravity, that led them to victory. The author did play basketball when he was a kid but acknowledges that any story that begins with "I heard" is possibly more legend than fact.
So the book reinforces teamwork but also provides the groundwork for looking at folklore and legend in literature.
April 29, 2024
This book depicts Gravity, the new basketball star that comes on the scene in the Milwaukee area. He takes the town by storm with his amazing basketball skills. He leads his team to many victories and makes them feel unstoppable. That is until they face the best team in the league and they realize that teamwork is more valuable than individual greatness. The story is one of loyalty and friendship and the illustrations are indicative of the fun detailed in the story.
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