The Very Sleepy Sloth

by Andrew Murray, Jack Tickle (Illustrator)

While Sloth tries to nap, the other jungle animals suggest he get up and do something, but when he points out that each of them are doing what they do best, he says that what he does best is sleep! 10,000 first printing.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fantasy, Storytime, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Andrew Murray is a writer of (mostly) children's books who lives in London. His friends think he has too many weird ideas and eats too much cheese. Andrew likes stormy nights, and books about long ago and faraway places. He likes cats too, as long as they don't leave hairs on his cheese.

Buddy and Elvis is in television development with London's Illuminated Films and Toronto's Comet Entertainment.

Fear Rescue, the first book in a spine-tingling new series for readers aged 7-10, is available for free download from www.andrewmurray.info

Sherlock - Prisoner 221B is the first installment in the Sherlock Darkly series of mystery thrillers for readers aged 9-12.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My youngest daughter recently brought this book home for us to read together. She loved it so much we read it a number of times within a few days. When preparing to write a review I discovered that there 6 editions of this book from 5 different publishers of imprints, that have been released between 2003 and 2010. And for a picture book of 32 pages it really has some great lessons.

The first few times my daughter and I read this she just thought the story was funny. It starts with different animals in the jungle all going about their own business. Cheetah on a treadmill, Elephant lifting weights, Kangaroo bouncing on a trampoline and monkey swinging. But soon they all notice Sloth is just sleeping. So they sort of gang up on him and try and pressure him into being more active. The Sloth being smarter than he looks; and he turns the tables on them, by suggesting that each of the other animals do a different animals activity. They all fail, and each getting more upset than the one before. Soon they all get mad at Sloth and he points of that he was just laying there.

Having talked this over with my daughter after about the 10th reading she realizes that we each have different strengths and talents and that is part of what makes us who we are. She also realized that trying to be someone else is not going to end well. She also picked up on the group gaining up on Sloth as a kind of bullying. And that they laughed at or were rude when others failed at different tasks, which is not ok. She realized that most of the animals were bucket dippers not bucket fillers(a concept used in primary grades at our school). And that Sloth helps them realize the mistakes they were making.

The illustrations by Jack Tickle are wonderful. His use of predominately soft tones and a broad palate bring the jungle scenes and animals to life. And children will love the pictures.

To be honest the first time through I was not as impressed but the more we read this book and talked about it the more impressed I became. That my 6 year old picked up all of these lessons by herself speaks to the quality of the book.

Overall a really good book with an awesome message, but without being preachy.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

[Abbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has the animals all being rude and laughing at each other when they try something new. The conclusion is that everyone is good at something and implies that the animals should stick to what they are good at (even if all they can do is sleep) and make fun of others if they are not good at something the first time they try it. The animals apparently have no interest in developing any skill but the one they already have talent for and are discouraging to one another rather than helping each other or encouraging each other to keep trying and learning.

[Madison Gervais · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annontation:

This book takes place in a jungle with a cheetah, an elephant, a kangaroo, a monkey, and a sleepy sloth. All the other animals try and talk the sloth into doing something other than sleeping, but in the end they all learn that everyone is good at something and for the sloth it happens to be sleeping.

The illustrations were very good and accompanied the book very well. They showed the actions the animals were doing and made it easier to make connections with what the author was saying.

Response:

I gave this book five stars because I think it has a great message and the author portrayed the message very well. The thought of everyone being good at something is very important for children to learn. It reminds me of when I was younger and I would get so mad when people were better than me at certain things, my dad had me realize what I was good at and focus on getting better at other things.

Classroom Connections:

This book can lead to a segway to talk about animals. The students can come up with a few animals and discuss what they would be good at and why. Also as a classroom builder, kids could discuss what they think each student is good at and they can be placed on a bulletin board for everyone to see. When students get upset about something they can’t do they’ll be reminded of what they are good at. This also can remind the students who they can go to for help if they need it.

Reading Complexity:

According to scholastic.com this has an interest level of k-2nd grade, and its grade level equivalent of 2.8. This would be a good read aloud for kindergarten and an independent read by the
end of 1st grade.

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teased for sleeping while the other animals practice running, jumping, swinging, and lifting weights, Sloth teaches them that there is one thing each of them does best--and his talent is sleeping. www.hcpl.net

[Delta Tish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sloth teaches his animal friends what they do best is not the same for everyone. Great book to teach children how special they are.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's freaking adorable! :-)

[Samaiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very adventurous book and helps my children learn to stay awake lol

[Lynne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed see sloth do what he does best, while encouraging others to do what they do best! I thought the art was vibrant and fun.

[Georgette Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable book. Great message.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my son's very favorite books when he was in preschool. We had a bit of a commute for my work, and we would listen to this CD and he'd 'read' along in the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations, a large format, and a fun story make this a great group read aloud. When the other animals notice sloth sleeping and judge him for his laziness, everyone learns a lesson about the beauty of diversity and how our differences can be strengths.

[Olivia Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your child needs to learn reading this would be a good opportunity for them to read but otherwise I don't think from 6 and up should be reading it personally I didn't find it very interesting but I'm sure smaller kids will

[Ranee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read today as part of the sub plans at the elementary school. Cute pictures but the children didn’t like that the animals made fun of each other. We had a good discussion about that and also how sometimes when we’re not good at something we can keep trying.

[Freddie D · Rating 3 out of 5]

An endearing tale that teaches us to play to our strengths. Lots of bright colours and delightful animals.

[Valerie Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a special message- "Everyone has something that they can do well. Find your talent."

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storytime: Jungle

[s e n t i m e n t a l i t i e s olittlebear · Rating 3 out of 5]

With my son, if it involves animals it's instantly a picture book he wants to read. He enjoyed all the accidents when the animals tried to copy each other and was delighted that the sloth went back to sleep at the end. I on the other hand was a bit fed up after reading this for the third time, which really isn't that many. I'm giving it 3 stars, but he'd probably give it more.

[Ashleigh Jevnikar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is very appropriate for children. The illustrations are enjoyable and children are able to learn about the diversity through different characters. Eventhough these characters all have different talents and interests, those characteristics are exactly what makes them unique.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book is cute. Groups of children like it a lot because it is predictable.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a sloth storytime in my future!