Don't Hurry! Be Happy! Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth by Eric Carle

SLOWLY, SLOWLY, SLOWLY THE SLOTH CRAWLED ALONG A BRANCH OF A TREE.

ALL DAY LONG THE SLOTH HUNG UPSIDE DOWN.

As they make their way to and fro all day, the animals of the tropical forest can't help noticing that the sloth is not making much progress from day to day toward the end of that branch. The creepy-crawling caiman, the loud howler monkey, the flashy toucan, and the slashy, scary jaguar ask rather rude questions of the sloth, but he doesn't reply.

"WHY ARE YOU DO BORING?" ASKED THE ANTEATER.

The sloth thought and thought and thought, while the impatient ground dwellers waited for his answer. At last the sloth yawns, slowly, of course, and comes up with his reply.

"I KNOW THAT I AM LACKADAISIACAL, PLACID, AND MELLOW. THAT'S JUST HOW I AM!"

The sloth is truly an unusual animal, moving at a pace that can make a snail look speedy, staying so still for so long that greenish moses grow into its fur and serve as camouflage. A sloth moves so infrequently that moths and beetles can lay eggs and raise their young on his shaggy coat without ever leaving the neighborhood branch, as naturalist Jane Goodall explains in her forward to noted artist-author Eric Carle's "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth (Penguin Books/Random House). 

For kids who like animals who move at a faster pace, Eric Carle provides a picture glossary of some of the swifter forest dwellers, such a spider monkeys, coatis, pumas, tapirs, macaws, quetzels, and anacondas, to name a few.

Carle's carefully executed collaged artwork has earned him a prominent place among picture book illustrators, and although he seems to admire the mellow moves of the sloth, living a life of peace, Carle's career has been a busy one, with many awards over his long career for books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

In the Z-Z-Z-Zone! Sloth Slept On by Frann Preston-Gannon

HE WASN'T LIKE ANY OTHER CREATURE WE HAVE EVER FOUND IN OUR BACKYARD.

WE ASKED HIM HIS NAME. WE ASKED HIM WHAT HE WAS DOING IN OUR TREE.

BUT THERE WAS NO ANSWER. HE WAS ASLEEP.

The good-hearted kids load the creature up on their little red wagon, his relaxed limbs dangling, and set off to find the answers to their questions.

Dad is too busy to take a look at their passenger, so they move on, inside the house to do some research in their animal books, but they don't see anything like their shaggy, somnolent friend. He's certainly not an elephant or a zebra. He has big claws, but he doesn't look much like a bear. Maybe he's an astronaut alien for another galaxy far, far away!

However, lying unnoticed on Dad's armchair, the Daily News has a banner headline:

ZOO BREAKOUT!

Then, in a book on the rain forest, their search pays off. He sleeps a lot, he moves slowly, or not at all, and he has shaggy fur. He's got to be... A SLOTH!

These thoughtful kids know the sloth's family must be worried, so they don't let the grass grow under their feet. They decide to send the sleepy sloth back to the nearest rain forest.

WE FOUND A NICE BIG BOX AND USED ALL THE STAMPS WE COULD FIND.

WE PICKED SOME LOVELY LEAVES FOR THE JOURNEY.

The kids dutifully haul the big box off to the post office, paying no attention to the signs posted along the way with pictures of the sloth. The caption says

IF FOUND

PLEASE RETURN

TO THE ZOO!

But the sloth sleeps on as the plane wings its way to the the deepest, darkest jungle, where the postal workers leave the box under a tall tree. The monkeys are curious and pry open the box.

The sloth is awake! And he has a question for the monkeys.

"EXCUSE ME. WHICH WAY IS THE ZOO?"

Bears and sloths sleep on... and on. But not even Karma Wilson's Bear can sleep as much as a sloth, as Frann Preston-Gannon's latest, Sloth Slept On (Sterling Books, 2015), proves. Preston-Gannon's narrative is delivered by the would-be helpful kids in deliberative, deadpan style, while her dutiful little animal lovers are totally oblivious to the zoo's efforts to find their wandering sloth, an irony that won't be at all wasted on young readers.

Pair this one with Preston-Gannon's previous book about another rather exotic critter, How to Lose a Lemur (see review here), or either of these jolly sloth stories--Helen Lester's Score One for the Sloths (Laugh-Along Lessons) or Jenny Offil's Sparky! (read review here).

"Gotta Go!" Kyle Goes Alone by Jan Thornhill

"I HAVE TO GO," SAID KYLE.

KYLE WAS A THREE-TOED SLOTH. HE DID EVERYTHING SO SLOWLY THAT HE ONLY HAD TO "GO" ONCE A WEEK

AND THAT ONCE A WEEK WAS...

...NOW!

Little Kyle lives in the highest canopy of rain-forest trees. Slow-moving sloths never leave the safety of the treetops--except when they have to go. And it's a long trip down to potty.

Since he was born, his mom has taken him with her for the weekly necessities. But now Mom says something surprising.

"I THINK YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH TO GO ALONE."

"ALONE?" SAID KYLE.

Kyle has never been alone, away from touching distance with his mom. But now it's time for him to solo.

Kyle screws up his courage and starts down... and down... and down.

"I'M ALL ALONE!" CRIED KYLE.

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" SQUAWKED ONE OF HIS NEIGHBORS, A RED-SPECTACLED PARROT.

Kyle stops to consider his next move. Up? Or down? But now he really has to go!

Mom calls out that he's doing just fine. Reassured, Kyle keeps climbing down. slowly, slowly, slowly. Whenever he begins to feel afraid, one of his tree neighbors--a green and red whipsnake, a tiger-legged monkey tree frog, and a leaf-cutter ant--is there to point out that he's not exactly alone.

But it is a long, slow, scary trip for a little sloth. Should he turn around and climb back up to Mom?

EXCEPT NOW HE REALLY, REALLY HAD TO GO!

When nature calls, even little sloths have to do their duty.

In a genuinely original plot for a "potty book," Jan Thornhill's Kyle Goes Alone (Owlkids Books, 2015), has her brave little arborial hero courageously arrive in the best tradition of "just in time," to the applause of his tree-dwelling neighbors.

Author Thornhill's well-paced narration builds quite a bit of suspense into Kyle's long and anxious solo descent, and artist Ashley Barron provides charming cut-paper collage illustrations which portray the protective coloration of the supportive neighbors and artfully partly conceal Kyle's watchful mother, camouflaged in the leaves, but staying close behind him as he worries his way down. Kyle Goes Alone manages to combine nature study and an exotic but all-too-familiar rite of passage that will have youngsters chuckling appreciatively all the way.

Thornhill appends two informative author's notes: "The Poop about Three-Toed Sloths" and "Camouflage: Hiding in Plain Sight" that provide useful jumping-off points for early childhood animal behavior studies.