The Upside-Down Book of Sloths

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Pub Date 5 Sep 2023 | Archive Date 31 Aug 2023
W. W. Norton & Company | Norton Young Readers

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Description

Slow, sleepy—and adorable. This playful and informative picture book follows the fascinating history of one of the world’s most beloved animals.

Many find sloths cute, while some find them just plain bizarre. In The Upside-Down Book of Sloths, Elizabeth Shreeve uncovers their less-well-known evolutionary history and how they became the beloved—and unique—creatures of today. She pairs and compares the six extant modern species, like the pygmy sloth, the brown-throated sloth, and the ai, with their prehistoric counterparts, such as Thalassocnus, the tough seafaring sloth; Paramylodon, which had armor-like skin and walked on the sides of its feet; and Megatherium, which could weigh up to 8,000 pounds. She even reveals how modern sloths have adapted to hang upside down, how they learned to swim, and even how they poop!

As entertaining as it is educational, The Upside-Down Book of Sloths offers a brilliant deep dive into sloths, their evolution, and their connections to our planet’s natural history—and future.

About the Authors: Elizabeth Shreeve writes books for young readers that celebrate Planet Earth. Elizabeth lives in Northern California with her family.

Isabella Grott grew up in Rovereto, Italy. She studied at Nemo Academy of Digital Arts in Florence, where she currently lives.

Slow, sleepy—and adorable. This playful and informative picture book follows the fascinating history of one of the world’s most beloved animals.

Many find sloths cute, while some find them just...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781324015772
PRICE US$18.95 (USD)
PAGES 40

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Average rating from 39 members


Featured Reviews

This book was slophisticated and I loved it slooow much- sorry not sorry for the puns. But jokes a side, this is a book for all sloth lovers of all ages. There is so much more to sloths than meets the eyes. The book is very cute and the illustrations are beautiful. The facts were interesting, it was nice not to just have info of facts about sloths of today, but also about prehistoric sloths and how they became what sloths are now.

"Tree Sloths are survivors. Masters of camouflage."

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of the book for an honest review

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Fantastic book! So much information with adorable pictures organized in a way that is playful and not overwhelming. This would be a great book for any animal-loving kids!

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The art in The Upside-Down Book of Sloths is lovely and will make any sloth lovers happy. It is a wonderful nonfiction book to include in the classroom. It is filled with facts but can easily be used as a read-aloud as well. It helped spark great conversations on endangered animals, size and mass comparisons, and prehistoric animals.

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Okay, who doesn't love a book about sloths? This is a great nonfiction book with interesting content about sloths. There are overarching facts that then lead to small specific facts about the sloths. This is not a dry nonfiction book. It will be entertaining both as an independent read and a read aloud in class.

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Thank you NetGalley and Norton Young Readers/W.W. Norton & Company for the opportunity to read "The Upside-Down Book of Sloths" in exchange for my honest review.

This book is wonderfully illustrated with fantastic images of sloths. Who doesn't love a cuddly looking sloth? The information is interesting and the reader will learn the differences between the 6 different types of sloths. Each type of sloth has a description but also the range they live/lived in, their maximum size, the time period they live/lived in, what their name means and their current status (whether they are endangered or not). There are comparisons to things that the reader will have knowledge of so they can imagine the size of the sloth. There is also lots of information on how they migrated, how they find food, how tree sloths will only leave the tree once a week because they hate to move. It was very interesting to compare the sloths movement to a humans - where a sloth will cover 13 feet/minute, a human will cover 270 feet in the same amount of time. They are excellent swimmers which was surprising to learn. Sloths are loners and like to hang alone in their tree, their slow movements keep them safe from predators.

At the end of the book there is a Timeline of Sloth History as well as a list of places where you can learn more about sloths - books and websites.

This book would be wonderful for elementary children who might be assigned a project on sloths. It is also a wonderful read-aloud for younger children who are fascinated by these wonderful animals.

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What a great book! I already loved sloths and thought this would be a cute book, but little did I know it would be packed with so many things I didn't know about them. Who knew that sloths used to be huge, run in packs, and swim? Shreeve does a great job at imparting detailed information about the history and types of sloths in a small but mighty book with beautiful pictures. I will definitely recommend and feature this book. Thank you to Norton Young Readers and NetGalley for the early peek at this title for my honest opinion.

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The Upside-Down Book of Sloths is fully of information and even as an adult I learned a lot about sloths! The pictures are incredible with great detail that helps you understand more about the topic and keeps younger children involved. Even though a lot of the information was over my 4 year old's head (better suited for 6-10 year olds), he repeatedly asked to keep reading it and did not want to stop. This would be an excellent addition to a unit on the jungle or sloths or even a great free reading book. This is an excellent example of engaging and not at all boring non-fiction. It should be a part of all children's libraries!

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This book is has lots of great illustrations and facts about sloths. All of the information is broken down into little digestible nuggets that make it fun to learn. The book compares modern day sloths to their giant extinct ancestors. Anyone interested in these adorable creatures will find something to love about this book. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

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Omg, I love sloths but this book was not only adorable and happy BUT also really informative! I’ve yet to see a sloth book that also looks at the ancestors of sloths and I LOVED that this book brought new information that I (a sloth lover) didn’t already know!

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This is a fun and adorable nonfiction book about sloths. What's not to love? Kids will love how the narrator speaks directly to them. The book combines many styles of nonfiction writing, which will hold the interest of older children. They'll love the narrative style that goes back in time to describe sloths of the past. They will also appreciate the fact boxes and descriptions of different types of sloths. Some of this may be confusing for younger readers who are still learning how to read nonfiction texts. They may need a teacher or parent to read with them.. As a third grade teacher, I will definitely purchase copies for my classroom. All kids love sloths and this book will be great to teach text features while keeping kids engaged in such interesting information! The adorable illustrations will also engage readers of all ages.

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This is such a fun, fact-filled book. Although it's marketed as a children's book, it easily holds an adult's attention, especially for those fascinated by this unique animals! Elizabeth Shreeve does an excellent job bringing sloths' history and place in the environment to life.

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