A Little Book Of Sloth



Last updated Monday, February 22, 2016

Author: Lucy Cooke
Date of Publication: 2013
ISBN: 1442445572
Grade Level: 2nd    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Apr. 2015

Synopsis: Hang around just like a sloth and get to know the delightful residents of the Avarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, the world’s largest sloth orphanage. You’ll fall in love with bad-boy Mateo, ooh and ahh over baby Biscuit, and want to wrap your arms around champion cuddle buddy Ubu!

From British filmmaker and sloth expert Lucy Cooke comes a hilarious, heart-melting photographic picture book starring the laziest—and one of the cutest—animals on the planet.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  Have you ever seen a sloth? Where?
•  What do you know about them?

Vocabulary:
•  Innate- existing as part of the basic nature of something
•  Virtue- a good and moral quality
•  Sanctuary- a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter
•  Maligned- to say bad things about someone or something
•  Idle- not working, active, or being used
•  Idyll- a happy and enjoyable scene or experience
•  Benevolent- kind and generous
•  Decree- an official order given by a person with power
•  Burgeoning- to grow or develop quickly
•  Brood- the children in someone's family
•  Digits- a finger or toe
•  Medieval- very old
•  Impersonation- to pretend to be something else
•  Paraplegic- a person who is permanently unable to move or feel the legs or lower half of the body because of injury or illness
•  Arboreal- of or relating to trees
•  Algae- simple plants that have no leaves or stems and that grow in or near water
•  Eccentric- tending to act in strange or unusual ways

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  Where is Costa Rica?
•  How many fingers do sloths have? (some have 2 & some have 3)
•  Why do you think the sloths hug so much? Why did they rest so much?
•  How long does it take for a sloth to digest its food?
•  Why are they green in the wild?
•  Why do sloths have an extra vertebrae?

Craft ideas:
•  Cut out small sloths and glue to a craft stick so it looks like it's hanging from a branch. See: hhttp://tippytoecrafts.blogspot.com/2011/08/sleepy-sloths.html
•  Make a sloth using a template. Color and glue pieces together to make sloth. See: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mpapersloth.htm
•  Make a scrapbook similar to the one at the end of the book. Draw your favorite pets or different animals & write something about each one's personality.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!