Sloths Love Parties (Rory H Mather, illus Binny Talib, Affirm)

Have you ever wondered why sloths are so slow and sleepy? In Rory H Mather’s Sloths Love Parties, it’s not because of their low-energy diet but due to their high-energy partying. These sloths love any kind of party—costume, surprise, fancy dress. The juxtaposition of party paraphernalia (such as hats, streamers, balloons and piñatas) with the lush jungle background makes for visual fun. As in Mather’s Sebastian Stands Out, this new book playfully subverts an animal’s behavioural norm, although Sloths Loves Parties is purely entertaining, without a strong moral for readers. Binny Talib’s illustrations render the sloths in bright, vivid, lush colours perfect for a rainforest, with rounded shapes making everything cute and appealing. The design is noisy, full of a wild variety of forms and shapes, with visible brushstrokes and tactile lines (the sloths’ fur looks particularly pat-able). While the rhyme scheme is hardly elegant, the text has a boisterous, inviting tone, and the concept is silly, sweet and joyous, ending in a call to sleep. Little ones will enjoy spotting the extra details of bugs and birds on each page, making for a frolicking adventure before bed. For ages 2–6.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Fay Helfenbaum is a freelance writer and editor and was a bookseller for five years. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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