Nowadays, the Globetrotters are known more for trick moves and comical antics than competitive basketball, but it wasn't always so. This picture-book biography focuses on the squad as a whole, beginning with their Chicago origins as the New York Harlem Globetrotters and touching generally on the the team's inception, their barnstorming across the nation, and their road to becoming the most popular basketball team in the world. The story culminates with an extended section on their competitive showdown with the Minnesota Lakers, the all-white National Basketball League's best team. Slade gently highlights how racism and segregation constrained the Globetrotters and how their success broke racial barriers, but the primary focus is on the delightful play of this ongoing line of talented athletes. Lively text mimics the energy of the game ough some language ("one-handed dunk shots") may feel awkward to today's fans d Tate's artwork beautifully reflects the joy, talent, and athleticism through big smiles and elongated limbs. Basketball fans will enjoy this introduction to an iconic sports institution.

Slade and Tate provide an overview of the development and rise to fame of the Harlem Globetrotters, with origins on Chicago's South Side in the 1920s and still thrilling viewers with their skills today. Because the players were Black, the team had to play exclusively on the road, facing racism and violence ("hometown fans didn't like out-of-town hotshots skunking their team") as they "barnstormed their way across America." Their popularity soared when they began incorporating ball-handling tricks into their play -- but professional basketball remained all white. In 1948 the team challenged the powerhouse Minnesota Lakers to a game -- and won; two years later, Chuck Cooper (a Globetrotters recruit) became the first Black player to be drafted into the NBA. Known as "America's Ambassadors of Goodwill," the Globetrotters' impact extends beyond the world of sports. Slade's peppy main text is short on dates and details, as the team's history is somewhat apocryphal; the useful back matter, including "More on the Trotters," an artist's note, a timeline, select sources, and archival photos, provides additional information. Tate's illustrations, done digitally in his usual big-hearted-caricature style (Whoosh!, rev. 7/16, and others), are an ideal match for the subject, with the players' tallness and thinness perfectly exaggerated, and the forever-motion of that big orange ball and its handlers spinning, twirling, and dunking on every scene. Elissa Gershowitz

A lively look at the history of the Harlem Globetrotters.Five serious African American basketball players with no opportunity to play in the top teams due to the racism of the 1920s took their basketball skills on the road, calling themselves the Harlem Globe Trotters (they became the Globetrotters sometime in the '30s). White America had a hard time coping with the Trotters' beating their teams-until the Trotters changed the way they played. They turned their games into theatrics, emphasizing slapstick and hilarity while at the same time honing their skills till "they played the most breathtaking, groundbreaking ball the country had ever seen." In 1948, Globetrotters finally got an opportunity to challenge the Minnesota Lakers, the best team in the Whites-only NBA. The Globetrotters' win caused the entire NBA to reconsider their recruitment policy. Slade has done careful, thorough research, easily engaging young readers as they learn about the Globetrotters' groundbreaking history. Veteran illustrator Tate creates constant movement, visually underscoring the title with dynamic (sometimes impossible) perspectives and basketballs caught in stop-motion fashion as they fly across the court. Robust backmatter bolsters the account, including a detailed timeline that's thoughtfully printed on the inside pages of the endpapers so that pasted-down jacket flaps will not obscure any of it.From beginning to end, fans will feel connected to the dynamic style of the Globetrotters and how they influenced American history. (further information, artist's note, selected sources, photos) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

After Black members of a 1922 championship high school team from Chicago-s South Side are barred from competing at the next level, they band together in this true story. In 1927, the team that will become the Harlem Globetrotters takes to the road in a Model T, picking up games with -anyone who would play,- despite being turned away from hotels and eateries. When locals resent the team beating home players, the Globetrotters develop their now-trademark tricks and footwork to win crowds over. Tate-s dynamic digital