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Summary
Summary
In this gentle and comforting bedtime book by two award-winning creators, a mama sloth helps her baby to self-soothe while she's making her way back to him.
Baby sloth lives high up in the trees with his mama, where he loves to sleep between her and the moon. But one night he tumbles from her arms to land in a soft patch of leaves far below. "I'll be there soon," Mama sloth calls down to him. But sloths never get anywhere soon. When Baby becomes worried, Mama finds clever ways to reassure and distract him using his senses of sight, sound, smell, and touch.
This beautifully told and enchantingly illustrated preschool read-aloud has the happiest of endings. It's a bedtime delight that's perfect for fans of Owl Babies and Kitten's First Full Moon.
Author Notes
Doreen Cronin was born in Queens, New york. She grew up in Merrick, Long Island. She attended Pennysylvania State University where she majored in journalism. Eventually she found herself using her journalism background in the world of publishing. and she turned her sights toward law and attended St. john's University School of Law. She went on to work as an attorney in a Manhattan Law firm. She wrote her book Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type in 1995, shortly after the death of her father. It took another five years, however, before the book was published. She stated in her bio that this book was not only her first published book but also the easiest book to write, taking her only about 20 minutes to jot down the story. The book went on to become a Caldecott Honor Book. While the book eventually met with great success, publishers rejected it repeatedly for several years until a publisher eventually called her with the news that it would be published. Her success as a children's author continued with books such as Diary of a Worm published in 2003 and winner of Parent's Choice Award Slver 2003 Picture Book, Diary of a Spider published in 2003 and Rescue Bunnies. She made the 2013 New York Times High Profiles List with her title Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Baby Sloth loves sleeping nestled high up in a tree "between/ his mama/ and the moon." When he tumbles to the ground, the tangerine-hued puffball lands in "a soft patch" of foliage, but he's nevertheless beyond forlorn in the inky darkness. Regarding the silhouetted, tangled vegetation around him with wide, anxious eyes, he feels "far away from home./ Far away from Mama." His mother quickly assures that she's coming to the rescue, but a series of panels depicting the sloth's glacially paced descent suggest that her arrival is likely to take a while. In response to her son's repeated calls of "Are you close now, Mama?" she tells Baby to focus on the details around him. Collaborators the Cronins (Lawrence & Sophia) show how the smell of yellow flowers, the sound of pink worms wriggling in fallen leaves, and the feel of blue moths fluttering all seem to light up the darkness by dint of the little sloth's budding powers of observation-as-self-regulation. By the time Mama's long arm extends lovingly into the frame, Baby has proved a little wiser, a lot calmer--and fully worthy of emulation. Ages 2--5. (Apr.)
Kirkus Review
After Baby sloth takes a tumble, he notices the nighttime life around him while waiting for his mama to retrieve him. Baby sloth loves snuggling close with his mother up high in the trees as the moon looms overhead. But when he falls from the tree, he's frightened. To calm and distract him as she makes her way down to get him, Mama points out the night's beautiful sights: bright yellow flowers, wriggling pink worms, and brilliant blue moths. When Mama and Baby sloth are together again at last, all the colors erupt together, a symbolic celebration of the sloths' love and reunion. Brian Cronin expertly plays with shadow and light, the moon a guiding light. The shadowy, complex darkness results in a backdrop perfectly paired with the splashy hues of the night life. Even Mama herself blends into the trees and darkness, while Baby's peachy fur and pink nose draw readers' eye and focus. For much of the book, Mama is obscured from readers, just as she is from Baby after his fall. For such concise writing, the book has many layers of story, which means that there's plenty for readers of all ages to take from its pages. A sweet, compelling tale of mother-child love. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
