Go, Sloth, Go!
by Toni Yuly; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Little, Brown    40 pp.
6/25    9780316497916    $18.99

In a picture book just right for young listeners as well as new readers, Sloth wakes up ready to eat. She “moves by degrees toward the tastiest leaves.” Striking torn paper, ink, and digital media illustrations silhouette her dark figure against a verdant jungle of leaves and vines, creating a layered textured-collage look. Short, playful lines of text curve and stretch across spreads, mirroring Sloth’s languorous movements. The refrain “Go, Sloth. Go, Sloth. Go, Sloth, go!” provides the opportunity to join in and chant along, and tiny critters—lizards, butterflies, birds—add something extra to notice on re-reads. The combination of illustration, page design, and words adds up to a book that gives a sense of Sloth’s leisurely pace while also creating forward momentum to keep pages turning. The text is minimal and repetitive, relying on sight words, which makes this a solid choice for children just learning to read. As the book draws to a close, spreads evolve from green to orange, purple, and blue as dusk falls and Sloth achieves her goal: bedtime. Yuly (The Pelican Can!, rev. 5/24) displays sensitivity to young children’s interests in this appealing homage to simple pleasures.

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.