Yuly, Toni. Go, Sloth, Go! Toni Yuly, Illus. Little Brown, 07/2025. [36]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-316-49791-6. GRADES Baby/Toddler–1. OUTSTANDING.
A softly smiling sloth wakes, ready to eat. Her slow climb to the tastiest leaves is narrated in brief, alliterative, rhyming text, punctuated by an interactive, encouraging chant – “Go, Sloth, go, Sloth, go, Sloth, go!” Matte paper with simple shapes in saturated greens, slowly transitions to midday, treetop, blues and peach, before hues warm and deepen to sunset oranges and indigo. The torn paper, ink, and digital illustrations are complemented by large-format text in potato cut font. Words ascend the page as sloth climbs, and diminish in size in the final chant, as readers encourage sloth to sleep. A calming, simple, and satisfying read-aloud or bedtime story perfect for young listeners. An entirely different picture book, with the identical title, was written by Gabrielle Prendergast and published in May (Orca, 2025).
Melissa McAvoy—Retired