Storytime With Karen – Sloths
It is not surprising that sloths have become so popular. They’re the perfect, chilled-out antidote to our busy lives … and they have very cute smiley faces too! While quokkas may be the happiest animals on the planet, sloths are the smiliest. The facial structure of a sloth gives the appearance that they are constantly smiling. And they remind us to slow down. The sloth is the world’s slowest mammal, so sedentary that algae grows on their fur. These drowsy tree-dwellers sleep up to 20 hours a day. When on the ground they move at a leisurely 30cm per minute.
The star of this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) book is a sloth. NSS takes place every year and 2023 is its 23rd big year! An Australian picture book is selected and then read simultaneously across the country. The aim is to get 2 million or more children excited about reading! This annual event is a great initiative to promote the importance of early literacy and reading.
BOOKS
The Speedy Sloth
Written by Rebecca Young and illustrated by Heath McKenzie
This is a funny and entertaining picture book featuring a sloth named Spike who wants to compete in The Great Race. All the other sloths tell her it can’t be done because sloths cannot run. But Spike is determined to give it a go and run her best race. While Spike finishes last, she feels like a winner for setting herself a challenge, conquering a fear and trying something new. The action packed and engaging illustrations include fun details to look for in each background. The rhyming text makes it perfect for reading aloud and the story celebrates the importance of believing in yourself, having a go and running your own race. This is the official story chosen for National Simultaneous Storytime 2023.
The Sloth Who Came to Stay
Written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Vivienne To
This beautifully illustrated picture book is essentially about taking the time to enjoy the little things in life. The little things that are often overlooked when family life gets too busy and hurried and rushed. Amy’s family are speedy! They walk fast, drive fast, shop fast and eat fast. That is, until the day Amy brings a sloth home to stay. Thanks to the slow-moving sloth, Amy’s family learns to slow down and enjoy being more sloth-like.
Sloth Slept On
Written and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
A sloth has gone missing from the local zoo. Three children discover him sleeping peacefully in a tree in their backyard. However, the children have never seen a sloth before and don’t know what it is. While the sloth sleeps on the children set about finding out what it is and where he belongs. But the sloth is in for a big surprise when he finally wakes up! There is a nice mix of true animal facts and a silly story where the children imagine the sloth to be a ferocious pirate or a brave knight or an astronaut. The illustrations of the sleepy sloth are funny, entertaining and engaging.
SONGS
Sloth Song
This song is all about staying chill like a sloth and includes lots of fun facts about sloths too.
Song of the Sloth
This song is all about slowing down like a sloth. The video features real (not animated) sloths moving through the trees.
A Crafty Idea
Create your very own running sloth finger puppet, just like Spike from The Speedy Sloth. This craft is courtesy of cleverpatch.
Image: cleverpatch
Materials needed:
- A4 cardstock
- Sloth template
- Crayons or markers
- Scissors
Method:
- Print the sloth template onto some cardstock.
- Colour in using crayons or markers.
- Cut out along the outer edge of the template using scissors.
- Cut out the grey circles toward the bottom of the template to make holes for your fingers to fit through.
- Pop your fingers through the holes and make your sloth run.
- For extra fun, you could have a race with a friend or sibling!
