Tacko Fall: To New Heights
Tacko Fall: To New Heights
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Publisher's Hardcover ©2022--
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Candlewick Press
Annotation: The inspiring true story of basketball phenom Tacko Fall—and his journey from West Africa to the NBA—will inspire young ... more
Genre: [Biographies]
 
Reviews: 3
Catalog Number: #324350
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Copyright Date: 2022
Edition Date: 2022 Release Date: 09/20/22
Illustrator: Brown, Reggie,
Pages: 1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN: 1-536-21958-4
ISBN 13: 978-1-536-21958-6
Dewey: 921
LCCN: 2021953242
Dimensions: 30 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 CST 2022)

At seven feet, six inches, Tacko Fall is one of the world's tallest people. Growing up in Senegal, some kids teased him about his height, but his mother reminded him of his ancestors' courage and encouraged him to work toward important goals. After discovering basketball, he practiced hard and improved his skills, hoping to play in the NBA someday. When invited to move to America for high school and college, he accepted. Overcoming the challenges of separation from his family and learning a new language, he worked hard and attained his goal by playing for the Boston Celtics. Fall reminds children of the principles that inspired him: "Always dream BIG. Always have courage." In this autobiographical picture book, he encourages children to pursue their own dreams through focused, diligent effort, and his advice could apply to many goals. The simply expressed first-person narrative flows well throughout the book. Capturing childhood memories as vividly as action on the basketball court, Brown uses color beautifully in the digital illustrations. A welcome picture book for young basketball fans.

Kirkus Reviews

NBA player Fall chronicles his journey from childhood in Dakar, Senegal, to success as a professional athlete in the United States.At 7 feet, 6 inches tall, Fall is one of the tallest people in the world. As a child, he loved sports and would often play soccer barefoot in the sand. He discovered basketball when he watched a game on TV with his grandmother one day, and when he saw Dwight Howard dunk, he thought the athlete was a real superhero. Fall started practicing basketball with a friend and was discovered by a coaching group, but training was difficult. On a particularly moving spread, young Tacko is shown exhausted from running up and down the court and struggling to lift a bar without weights. With practice, however, he improved, and his path to the NBA continued when he left his mother and brother to attend high school in the United States. Fall details his adjustment to his new life, the challenges he encountered, and his efforts, describing how he attended college and covering career highlights. The first-person narration is relatable and engaging, and the honesty with which Fall expresses the emotional points of his journey is refreshing and touching. Brown's illustrations represent Fall's comparative height without caricature, and the variety of scenes and vignettes with animation-style pictures gives the feeling of a humorous graphic novel, in the best way. (This book was reviewed digitally.)Triumphant and inspiring, this autobiographical piece will thrill fans and charm all readers. (Picture-book biography. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Basketball player Tacko Fall (b. 1995)—who, at 7’6”, “always wanted to be known for more than just my height”—recounts his path to the NBA in this picture book. With simple but detailed prose, Fall and Haynes describe an active childhood in Dakar, where Fall was first exposed to basketball on TV. When a coaching group spots him on a local court, he begins a training regimen that eventually leads to a move to the U.S. for high school and college. Throughout, the creators emphasize the value of practice, hard work, and persistence—themes summed up by Fall’s response to an offer to play for the Boston Celtics: “I promised that I would practice hard, that I’d have courage, that I wouldn’t let anything distract me.” Brown’s geometric digital visuals feature Fall achieving “new heights” and offer a big payoff as they picture the figure dunking during his first professional game—a winning conclusion to a notable life story that foregrounds dreaming big and having courage. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)

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ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 CST 2022)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Reading Level: 2.0
Interest Level: K-3
Guided Reading Level: O
Fountas & Pinnell: O

The inspiring true story of basketball phenom Tacko Fall—and his journey from West Africa to the NBA—will inspire young people to dream and do.


Tacko Fall was always tall, even as a child, but he wasn’t always a slam-dunk star. On his first official day of training as a boy in Senegal, running up and down the basketball court was exhausting. The first time he tried weight-lifting, he could barely lift the bar, even with no weights on it! The game had many rules that he didn’t understand, but Tacko set aside frustration and found the courage to keep working. The more he practiced, the more his skills grew, and the more reachable his goals became. Touching on immigration, determination, hard work, and the long road to success, this picture-book biography of one rising basketball star will delight his many fans and introduce him to new ones. Coauthored with his sports agent and paired with engaging illustrations, Tacko Fall’s relatable story will motivate readers to overcome obstacles and aim high—and higher still.


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