Ready, Steady, Sloth!

by Justin Anderson, Manu Montoya (illustrator)

Follow—very slowly—a brown-throated sloth and her clinging baby as they go on a secretive, daring mission in this captivating look at a hugely popular creature by a BBC documentary maker.

Did you know that sloths give birth hanging upside down? That they fall out of their tree in the rainforest canopy about once a week? That they’re covered with algae and small brown moths that serve as an excellent disguise? Or that it takes them thirty days to digest a single leaf? The animals’ slow digestion may account for their weekly long journey from treetops to ground (where they deposit a smelly signal to other sloths), and their talent for freezing in place helps to keep them safe from predators during this dangerous operation. With humor and warmth, this engaging narrative, coupled with vividly colorful, friendly illustrations, is sure to please sloth lovers and attract new fans. More information about the seven species of sloths can be found in the back matter, along with resources for helping to save this enduring animal’s dwindling habitat.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 2025

About the author

Justin Anderson is a zoologist and filmmaker with a passion for animals and wild places. He spent months in Ladakh leading a BBC crew filming snow leopards for Planet Earth II. Snow Leopard: Ghost of the Mountains is his picture book debut. Justin Anderson lives in England.

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan.

The story itself is fine, and all the information is nice and accurate, and relevant, but it's not engaging, and the mixture of the large text "storyline" and the additional small text fun facts makes it a bit of a jumbled mess where storytime might be concerned. The illustrations, however, are gorgeous, and very entertaining. I look forward to seeing more of Montoya's work, but I can't say that I'd recommend this to anyone for a storytime.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[YSBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow sloth and her baby star in this beautiful picture book, with the story appearing along the top while facts about its unusual subject appear below. The momma sloth has a special mission that sends her down from the trees to the ground – what could it be? As she crawls along, baby clinging to her tummy (“she is like a warm, furry hammock, dangling in the treetops”), we learn all about the animal’s unusual diet and digestive system.  The mixed media illustrations are large, colorful, and simplified, easy to see across the room during a storytime. Despite the naive look, readers will learn a lot about the sloth from the artwork, such as what plants and creatures share her habitat, while the meandering cadence of the story mimics the animal’s patient movement. Anticipation builds as Anderson follows his masked main character down the tree trunk and asks readers to guess “But what is she here to do?” Great glee will follow when it turns out (in a series of vertical vignettes) that she’s down there to take a big poop! This is zoological bathroom humor, but the author has done such a great job of leading up to it that it’s anticipated and interesting. It also puts the little family in the path of a wandering jaguar, which gives them another opportunity to display adaptive behavior, in this case, freezing in place with their greenish-tinged coats providing excellent camouflage. Back matter includes short descriptions of the 6 kinds of sloths, a recommendation to check out the Sloth Conservation Foundation’s website, and a diminutive index, referring to words that have appeared in a bold font throughout the book. The author is a zoologist while the illustrator is from Columbia, which is home to several sloth species. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Forever Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zoologist and filmmaker Justin Anderson crafts a captivating narrative following a mother sloth and her baby on a "secretive, daring mission" down from the safety of their tree. The book’s design is a standout feature: the primary story is printed in a larger font, while salient sloth facts appear in smaller script throughout, offering librarians the flexibility to tailor storytime sessions to the audience’s age and attention span. The plot includes the "crowd-pleasing" detail of how sloths deal with their poop, a hook sure to engage young readers. Manu Montoya’s vibrant, colorful illustrations depict a lush rainforest habitat filled with flora and fauna for kids to discover. With additional documentation—including an index, a species feature, and websites to explore—this title is a good selection that encourages independent investigation.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright and bold illustrations depict a mama sloth and her baby on a very important weekly mission. Sloth fans will know what this mission is. Two levels of information are presented on each page. I learned a few new things about sloths: how they can freeze in place to stay safe from predators - they smell like the forest due to all the critters growing/living in their fur. Love the pic of the sloth’s face after her mission is accomplished. Back matter mainly explains the 5 different species of sloths, 2 websites are listed for further information, no other authority mentioned.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nonfic about Sloths. Has varying degrees of info. You can read the story/facts about the sloths and then there is smaller text with more info. It was formatted as a story about a mom sloth, and have facts about them as she goes on her adventure for the day with her baby.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly fascinating book about sloths...and just a little bit gross.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect for storytime

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 2026 Texas 2x2 List. This was a book about sloths, filled with facts. There was a lot I didn’t know about sloths.