Slow Down

Sloth at the Zoom by Helaine Becker and Orbie, published by OwlKids is a wonderful little look at some of the animals, fast and slow, you can find at the zoo.

One day the Zoom got a delivery of a new animal.  It was a sloth.  Unfortunately sloth was delivered to the wrong place, she should have gone to the Zzzzzoo not the Zoom.  She tries her best to make friends with the other animals but it is really difficult.  She’s so slow and they are so fast.  One day she meets a kindred spirit, a snail.  They spend some time with each other, peaking the interest of the other animals at the Zoom, who slow down long enough to make friends.

Sloths are funny creatures, so slow and lethargic, yet so cute and cuddly looking and make the most perfect book characters.  You will have a lot of fun reading this book aloud, using your slowest voice for sloth and your fastest voice for the other animals.  You can really use this book to delve into some studies about animals, comparing animals by speed, making inferences about which animals you could find at the Zzzzzoo.

Sloth at the Zoom is also a lovely book about friendship and mindfulness. When we take the time to slow down, we can start to appreciate the little things, and slow things all around us. Perhaps in those moments of slowness and stillness we can even discover new friends.  

The illustrations by Orbie are phenomenal! So charming and welcoming. Orbie invites us into the story with the adorable sloth to experience all the speed and whimsy of the zoom.

It’s a really fun story you can take in many different directions to expand your child’s understanding of animals and classification.  It will inspire you to make a trip to the zoo, in person or virtually, to discover more about all the incredible creatures we can find around the world.