"A tall tale about a local basketball hero nicknamed Gravity"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

In this high-energy story about the unsung superstars walking among us, the Eagles basketball team feels unstoppable with Gravity on their side until they realize it may take a little more than Gravity to bring them to victory. 50,000 first printing. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

In his author-illustrator debut, Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe–and Africana Book Award–winning illustrator 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.

Here 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.

Charly Palmer is a graphic designer, illustrator, and the Africana Book Award and Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award winner for Mama Africa! As a child, he was fascinated by Ezra Jack Keats’s illustrations for The Snowy Day, which inspired Charly’s own use of color and geometric shapes. He studied art and design at the American Academy of Art and the School of the Art Institute, both in Chicago. - (McMillan Palgrave)

Booklist Reviews

Palmer, recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Illustrator Award for New Talent, spins twin tributes to teamwork and to the unrecognized playground greats of his Milwaukee youth with this soaring tale of a b-ball squad's ride to glory behind their newest member—nicknamed "Gravity" because he jumped so high that everyone on the "Eagles" could go for ice cream before he came down. Possessing more than jaw-dropping ball skills, he's wise enough to know when it's time for a pep talk. "I can't win this game," he tells the team. "But WE can." Following initial introductions, the figures often lose distinctive features in the impressionistic illustrations, but the players wear identifying jerseys with the numbers of NBA giants, and the loose, vigorous brushwork captures plenty of speed and vertical motion in the action scenes. The tale is likewise delivered by the Eagles' one girl player with proper fast-break pacing. A high-stepping solo debut, with hardly any exaggeration. Grades 1-3. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Summer on the blacktop courts of Milwaukee gets infinitely more exciting when a new kid joins the Eagles. From the first time they see him handle a basketball, the team members know that with Gravity on their squad they have a chance to be the best in the city. Palmer's (Mama Africa!, rev. 11/17; A Plan for the People, rev. 7/21) entertaining modern-day tall tale, told in direct-address by teammate Butta, is heavy on both hyperbole and basketball action: Gravity once jumped so high that we were able to go out for ice cream before he came down. On-point gameplay descriptions bring readers into the action as the awe-inspiring heroics of a mythically great ballplayer take center court. The story's climax is at the city finals where the Eagles realize they can't rely only on Gravity's immense skills and abilities to overcome their opponents. Vivid colors and heavy brushstrokes bring the city, its courts, and the characters to life, with the fluid basketball movements and positioning of the players being exceptionally well rendered. Palmer's author note dedicates the story to unsung basketball greats who never made it to the NBA but left a lasting impression on those who witnessed their incredible feats and heard their amazing stories. Hand off to fans of Peoples-Riley's I Got Next (rev. 11/19) and Myers's H.O.R.S.E. (rev. 1/13). Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Summer on the blacktop courts of Milwaukee gets infinitely more exciting when a new kid joins the Eagles. From the first time they see him handle a basketball, the team members know that with Gravity on their squad they have a chance to be the best in the city. Palmer's (Mama Africa!, rev. 11/17; A Plan for the People, rev. 7/21) entertaining modern-day tall tale, told in direct-address by teammate Butta, is heavy on both hyperbole and basketball action: "Gravity once jumped so high that we were able to go out for ice cream before he came down." On-point gameplay descriptions bring readers into the action as the awe-inspiring heroics of a mythically great ballplayer take center court. The story's climax is at the city finals where the Eagles realize they can't rely only on Gravity's immense skills and abilities to overcome their opponents. Vivid colors and heavy brushstrokes bring the city, its courts, and the characters to life, with the fluid basketball movements and positioning of the players being exceptionally well rendered. Palmer's author note dedicates the story to "unsung basketball greats who never made it to the NBA but left a lasting impression on those who witnessed their incredible feats and heard their amazing stories." Hand off to fans of Peoples-Riley's I Got Next (rev. 11/19) and Myers's H.O.R.S.E. (rev. 1/13). Eric Carpenter January/February 2022 p.97 Copyright 2022 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

In his author/illustrator picture-book debut, Palmer celebrates basketball virtuosos who never make it to the NBA. An older Black girl who plays basketball is the unnamed narrator of this tale. Acknowledging that people have varying opinions about who deserves the honorific best basketball player ever, she invites readers to incline their ears to her telling of the legend of Gravity, "the greatest ballplayer to ever lace up a pair of sneakers." She goes on to relate how she and her teammates on the Hillside Projects basketball team, the Eagles, first met Gravity when he suddenly showed up on the neighborhood court one afternoon. After witnessing the lanky newcomer's prowess with the ball, the Eagles promptly recruit him to join their team, and Gravity becomes their star player, propelling them to victory over teams across the city. With each winning game, the Eagles get closer to the Best of the Best tournament. Their foolproof strategy is to get the ball to Gravity so that he can make all the winning plays, but when the big final game against the unbeatable East Side Flyers rolls around, the kids realize it will take more than Gravity's one-man show to carry the day. Palmer's painterly illustrations effectively convey the physicality and drama of basketball. In the author's note, he dedicates the book to streetball legends everywhere and reminds readers that their stories are kept alive by word of mouth and thus, often end up sounding like tall tales. All characters are Black. (This book was reviewed digitally). A delightful and nicely anecdotal story about the importance of teamwork and the unsung heroes among us. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Inspired by "unsung basketball greats who never made it to the NBA," Palmer follows the Eagles, a team of Black streetball players in Milwaukee, spinning a legend of a brilliant player who brings them together. The Hillside Projects team becomes six with a new arrival, nicknamed Gravity for how he leaps over the others (the team was once "able to go out for ice cream before he came down"). He joins "smooth" Liquid, unpredictable Left 2 Right, high-jumping Sky High, towering Too Tall, and an initially unnamed narrator. Gravity carries the Eagles from the local blacktop to the Best of the Best tournament, where they face the formidable East Side Flyers, a team that even Gravity can't defeat alone. Through stylized, painterly illustrations that highlight kinetic motion, Palmer shows off pickup basketball athletes' legendary talents while underlining the power of unity and teamwork. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)