a little book of sloth, by Lucy Cooke. Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon & Schuster, 2013. $18.99 ages 4 and up

"Sloths' natural home is the jungles of South and Central America where they spend their whole life hanging about in trees. Literally. Their long arms and curved claws help them hook on and hang without spending much energy, allowing for optimum laziness."

They are not called the 'masters of mellow' for no reason. It has taken sixty million years of evolution to get them where they are today. Sloths can teach each one of us a lesson in what is really important in life. Just chill!

In this photographic and informative look at the sloths that are housed in the Avarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica we meet some truly delightful wee creatures that will have young readers 'oohing' and ahhing'. The sanctuary is described by author Lucy Cooke as 'an upside-down world where sloth is a virtue and not a sin.' It's only goal is to save the sloth from extinction. There are one hundred and fifty cuddly and huggable, orphaned or injured, inhabitants.

Pore over its pages to meet some of them and to learn about their many characteristics. Lucy Cooke does an exceptional job of providing just the right amount of information for her audience and she ensures that it is not likely to be a book that will be read only once. It is inviting and interesting; so, you won't balk at being asked to read it again. You can feel yourself relaxing as you share their lifestyle and the humor that the author adds to the telling:

"Not only do sloths spend 70 percent of their time, ahem, "resting", but their nerves may even have evolved to not react to loud noises. So there's no point saying BOO! to a sloth. They are simply too chilled to notice."

or:

"Sloths are like stealth ninjas, and these invisible cloaks prevent them from becoming eagle food. Which is just as well. Since their top speed is fifteen feet a minute, running from danger is simply not an option."

Come inside and meet Buttercup, who started it all, and then move on to become familiar with Mateo, Sunshine and Sammy, Ubu, Wally and the others. They will teach you more about sloths than you have known, and warm your heart.

Meet Chewbacca, the carrot loving sloth:

http://youtu.be/xiE5AQHKj_Y

If you want to see more, be sure to visit Lucy Cooke's website. You can find it at http://www.slothville.com. Perhaps you would like to adopt one of its cuddly residents.