Friends of Montclair Library

Perhaps it’s only fitting that I’m getting a late start with this post in honor of International Sloth Day (October 20), a day to celebrate these adorable, tree-dwelling and slow-moving animals. The holiday is a project of the AIUNAU Foundation, a non-profit conservation and wildlife organization based in Colombia.

Got a slow-poke, a day-dreamy dawdler, on your hands? Pick up some picture books about sloths, and discover the virtue in their laid-back worldview.

“Slowly , Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth by Eric Carle (J PICBK CARLE) – Challenged by the other jungle animals for its seemingly lazy ways, a sloth living in a tree explains the many advantages of his slow and peaceful existence.

Sparky! by Jenny Offill (J PICBK OFFILL) – A child takes a sloth named Sparky as a pet.

Who Lives Here by Nicola Davies (J PICBK DAVIES) – This beautiful lift-the-flap book includes a sloth in the section about the rainforest.

Lost Sloth by J. Otto Seibold (J PICBK SEIBOLD) (not at Montclair) – Sloth hurries to make it to the store to claim his free shopping spree, but the notoriously slow-moving animal faces challenges in reaching his destination before time runs out.

Sloths by Melissa Stewart (J 599.313 STEWART) (not at Montclair) – This non-fiction book covers the history, habits and habitat of sloths.

Score One For the Sloths by Helen Lester (J PICBK LESTER) (not at Montclair) – Sparky (a different Sparky), a new energetic student at a sloth school, saves her lazy classmates when a wild boar from a government agency tries to shut the school down.

Diego Saves the Sloth! by Alexis Romay (J PICBK ROMAY) (not at Montclair) – Diego saves Sammy the Sloth who is stranded on a tree branch.

A Little Book of Sloth by Lucy Cooke (J 599.313 COOKE) (not at Montclair) – Photos of the residents of the Avarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, the world’s largest sloth orphanage, by the National Geographic explorer and proprietor of Slothville.com.

Bonus easy readers:
The High-Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Sleepy Sloth by Cynthia Rylant (J READER RYLANT) – While having a picnic on the docks, animal detectives Bunny and Jack meet a dog whose one and only lawn chair is missing, and they set out to solve the case.

Swing, Sloth! Explore the Rain Forest by Susan B. Neuman (J 591.734 NEUMAN) – Learn about the creatures that make their home in the rainforest.

P.S. The sloth illustration at bottom right of the graphic that accompanies this article is by Emily Balsley via Flickr / Creative Commons. Thanks for sharing!

Bet you didn’t know that Cephalopod Awareness Days run from October 8-12. Octopi and squid as a group seem to go in for wacky, clueless and amusing behavior in picture books, so to celebrate World Octopus Day (the appropriately chosen Octo-ber 8), here are eight picture books about silly cephalopods:

Cowboy & Octopus by Jon Scieszka (J PICBK SCIESZKA) – Cowboy and Octopus maintain their friendship despite different opinions about things like beans and knock-knock jokes in this laugh-out-loud funny book.

I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry (J PICBK SHERRY) – A giant squid brags about being bigger than everything else in the ocean–almost.

Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu (J PICBK NYEU) (not at Montclair) – Four separate stories celebrate the many-legged friendship between Squid and Octopus as they disagree over how to stay warm, encourage each other and fret over the contents of a fortune cookie.

An Octopus Followed Me Home by Dan Yaccarino (J PICBK YACCARINO) (not at Montclair) – When a girl brings home an octopus and wants to keep him as a pet, her daddy reminds her of the crocodile, seals and other inappropriate animals she has already brought into the house to create chaos.

My Octopus Arms by Keith Baker (J PICBK BAKER) (not at Montclair) – Little Crab asks what an octopus can do with his eight arms and gets a surprising, rhyming, reply.

Izzy & Oscar by Allison Estes & Dan Stark (J PICBK ESTES) (not at Montclair) – Octopuses make the best pets! Pretend pirate captain Izzy is looking for a pet when an adventurous little octopus squiggles into town.

Good Thing You’re Not an Octopus! by Julie Markes (J PICBK MARKES) (not at Montclair) – A little boy finds that his life is pretty easy compared to how it might be.

Thank You, Octopus by Darren Farrell (J PICBK FARRELL) (not at Montclair) – Octopus helps his buddy get ready for bed, but in most unusual ways.

Bonus book (not in OPL, but worth requesting through Link+):
Emile by Tomi Ungerer – The story of an octopus who decides to try living on land and how he becomes a hero.