"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth

"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth

Slowly, slowly, slowly . . . that's how the sloth lives. He hangs upside-down from the branch of a tree, night and day, in the sun and in the rain, while the other animals of the rain forest rush past him. "Why are you so slow? Why are you so quiet? Why are you so lazy?" the others ask the sloth. And, after a long, long, long time, the sloth finally tells them! Set in the lush world of the tropical rain forest, this original picture book is an exquisite showcase of Eric Carle's colorful collage art-with a meaningful message: Slow down! Take time to enjoy your world. The three-toed sloth of the Amazon rain forest is very, very slow. "Why are you so slow?" the howler monkey asks. But the sloth doesn't answer. He doesn't respond when the caiman asks why he's so quiet, either--or when the anteater asks why he's so boring. He is only moved to speak when the jaguar asks him why he's so lazy. After thinking long and hard (as sloths tend to do), he begins to elaborate on his many slothful qualities: unflappable, lethargic, but not lazy. "That's just how I am. I like to do things slowly, slowly, slowly." This simple introduction to the joys of sloth (and sloths) may be the perfect book for bedtime--parents and children alike will enjoy learning in zoologist Jane Goodall's foreword that sloths sleep 15 to 19 hours a day! The beautiful tapirs, tree frogs, and birds of the Amazon that adorn Eric Carle's cut-paper collage, color-drenched pages are identified at the close of this lush, oversized picture book. (Preschool to age 5) --Karin Snelson Kindergarten-Grade 3-As a sloth crawls along a branch, eats a leaf, sleeps, and awakens, echoing the languid tempo of its rain-forest life, Carle grabs readers' attention with a continuous procession of animals, revealing the diversity of their habitat. Anaconda, peccary, tapir, caiman, jaguar, toucan, and armadillo, among others, quietly observe the creature and gently disappear in a march of bold colors. Carle's art is at its best with a brightly colored selection of painted tissue-paper collage that captures 25 rain-forest denizens. Each page of text reinforces the sloth's slow pace, until it ends its silence and temporarily changes the measured text tempo in a lengthy paragraph (with 20 adjectives) explanation of his love for serenity. In an introduction, both Carle and zoologist Jane Goodall praise efforts to save the rain-forest habitat and slow the pace of today's hurried lifestyle. The artwork alone places this book as a treasured addition for all libraries. Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar , has been translated into 70 languages and sold over 55 million copies. Carle illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 170 million copies of his books have sold around the world. In 2003, Carle received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) for lifetime achievement in children's literature. In 2002, Eric and his wife, Barbara, cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (www.carlemuseum.org) in Amherst, Massachusetts, a 40,000-square-foot space dedicated to the celebration of picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world, underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form. Eric Carle passed away in May 2021 at the age of 91. His work remains an important influence on artists and illustrators at work today. www.eric-carle.com