Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Summary: A girl tells the story of Gravity, a mysterious kid who shows up at the local playground basketball court and soon becomes a legend. His real name is never told, but the other kids give him the nickname Gravity since he seems to defy it. Soon Gravity has turned the team into champions, and they’re excited to go to the Best of the Best, Milwaukee’s pickup basketball tournament. They easily defeat one team after the other until they face perennial champions the Flyers. Gravity does his best, but by halftime, he’s exhausted. He tells the rest of the team how they can work together to win, and each one uses their unique talents to defeat the Flyers by 17 points. Gravity insists that they share the trophy, and “twenty-five years later, we still do.” Includes an author’s note celebrating championship basketball players who never made it into the NBA. 40 pages; grades K-5.
Pros: If stories about Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill are feeling a little tired, here’s a new tall tale that kids will love, with colorful illustrations and plenty of basketball action.
Cons: The somewhat abstract paintings made it a little difficult to distinguish one player from another.
January 27, 2022 at 04:52PM Janet Dawson