The Legend of Gravity - by Charly Palmer (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A tall tale about a local basketball hero nicknamed Gravity"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner
An Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids Title
A BookPage Best Book of the Year
2023 NYPL Vibrant Voices List

"The Legend of Gravity is a riveting rocket of a tale. Like a memorable championship game, it deserves to be revisited over and over again by legions of devoted fans." --BookPage, starred review

"On-point gameplay descriptions bring readers into the action as the awe-inspiring heroics of a mythically great ball player take center court... 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." --The Horn Book, starred review

"This highly inspiring tale has a great deal of heart and will appeal to readers who enjoy basketball and characters who inspire. The art is expressive and sophisticated; combined with the story, this makes for an outstanding addition to the canon of tall tales." --School Library Journal

"A delightful and nicely anecdotal story about the importance of teamwork and the unsung heroes among us." --Kirkus Reviews

Palmer's visual storytelling adds a breathless wonder that's much harder to deliver than a concluding moral, as the solid weight of the thickly brushed players goes effortlessly airborne, and the glowing ball seems weightless as a paper lantern in Gravity's broad, dark hands. --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Through stylized, painterly illustrations that highlight kinetic motion, Palmer shows off pickup basketball athletes' legendary talents while underlining the power of unity and teamwork." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

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.