A parade of rainforest animals wanders by as the sloth slowly goes about his business. Hanging from a branch of his tree day and night, everything he does is done with painstaking slowness. Carle's book is a reminder of the rushing that our society does and at least one example of a species that enjoys its life and environment, doesn't feel the need for much activity, and lives its life in peace.

The story reminds me of another Carle parade of animals in The Very Busy Spider, one of my oldest sons favorite baby books.

This selection is a colorful collage of unusual animals, with a little bit of camoflage. The story mostly moves slowly, slowly along with the sloth, until at the end, the sloth pipes up with his response to the others' criticism, explaining his behavior.

Jane Goodall describes the sloth in detail with her opening remarks, along with a plea for protection of the rainforest animals and habitat which are at risk from lumbering and cattle farming.

related-sloths, jungle animals, lazy vs peaceful existence
RL=K-1st, read aloud to babies and toddlers