Archie: No Ordinary Sloth (Heath McKenzie, Five Mile Press)

The word ‘sloth’ is unlikely to be paired with the adjective ‘energetic’, but that’s exactly what author—illustrator Heath McKenzie does in his latest picture book. McKenzie, who’s had success with a large number of children’s and YA titles (including The Australian Twelve Days of Christmas and The Number One Aussie Counting Book), is onto another winner with his endearing (but also annoying) protagonist Archie. While his peers are slumbering on branches in the darkest depths of the woods, this sloth is bright-eyed and raring to go. Poor Archie tries oh so hard to wake up his somnolent buddies (tickling them, sloshing coffee down their throats, employing cymbals), but his friends are not impressed and tell him to scarper. McKenzie has a lot fun with his vibrant pictures of Archie wanting to juggle, swing and groove. This book is all about having an existential crisis and ultimately accepting difference—though obviously the message is tailored to a young, preschool audience. Archie starts to question his antics and wonders why he can’t be like his compatriots, until one day a tiger descends on his sleeping buddies and Archie’s hyperactivity saves them all. McKenzie uses humour to good effect and his pictures are bright but not fussy—there’s lots of clean white space to rest the eyes between the text and the illustrations.

Thuy On is a reviewer and books editor of the Big Issue

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