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Summary
Summary
The sloths at Sleepy Valley Sloth School were content in their slothfulness. Once in a while the teacher would awake and command them all to yawn or snore, but most of the time, the class just slept. One day, a new sloth arrives. She isn't much like a sloth at all. She is a go-getter, a mover and a shaker--which is to say she actually moves. By mid-morning she's driven the other sloths crazy. They think she's a pest, and she thinks they're nothing but a bunch ofbores, that is until a real boar arrives--an official representative of S.O.S. (Society for Organizing Sameness) sent to close the school because of their low academic scores. Something has to be done, and all eyes turn to Sparky. Even with all of her energy though, Sparky can't save the school alone.
Readers are sure to enjoy this humorous tale that celebrates the value of both individuality and being true to oneself.
Author Notes
Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger have collaborated on many funny and popular books for children, including the stories starring Tacky the Penguin and Wodney Wat, as well as the new Laugh-Along series. Helen Lester is a full-time writer who makes her home in New York. Lynn Munsinger has lived in Vermont and Connecticut, devoting her time to freelance illustration.
http://www.helenlester.com/
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Everything is nice and peaceful at Sleepy Valley Sloth School, with the sloths content in their slothfulness, until Sparky arrives. She is, just as her name would indicate, full of energy, and decidedly unslothlike: "Let's read a story! Hey, we could use a little music!" She soon dubs her classmates "a bunch of bores," as they try to ignore her and continue to nap. When a representative of the S.O.S. (Society for Organizing Sameness)-"a real boar"-arrives to close the school because of its low test scores, it is up to Sparky to save the day. Somehow Munsinger manages to make sloths endearing. The illustrations add delightful comic details that build on the text. For example, the classroom is decorated with the sloths' artful crayon renderings of a pillow, bed, and recliner and the chalkboard reveals they have been counting sheep for the math lesson. The day's schedule lists "nothing" for both the morning and afternoon. Though fans of the Lester/Munsinger team will at least want to consider this one, it is not as successful as Hooway for Wodney Wat (Houghton, 2001). Some of the story lacks logic; it is unclear if anything will change for Sparky after she tricks the boar and the school is allowed to continue. Will she be just as bored with her fellow students or will she become more slothlike? While the art is great, the text relies on easy laughs, perhaps at the expense of the story.-Robin L. Gibson, Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
An energetic and spunky new classmate is anything but contagious to the pajama-clad, somnambulistic students at Sleepy Valley Sloth School. "The propitiously paired collaborators behind Tacky the Penguin again turn out a comic caper with a subtly delivered moral," said PW. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved