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PreS-Gr 1—A persistent girl asks for a pet until her mother finally relents with a caveat: "You can have any pet you want as long as it doesn't need to be walked or bathed or fed." The school librarian leads the girl to the S volume of the animal encyclopedia, where she discovers the sloth, a creature that barely moves. When her sloth arrives, she names him Sparky, a moniker that suggests energy (unlike her new pet). The girl attempts to impose many un-sloth-like qualities on the quiet creatu...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

A young girl wants a pet, but what kind? Her mother okays any critter that "doesn't need to be walked or bathed or fed," so the girl outwits her with a sloth. The sad-eyed mammal she names Sparky arrives by "Express Mail" in a box, holes cut out for the head, arms, and legs. But the girl's excitement turns to disappointment as reality sets in: "It was two days before I saw him awake." She tries to teach Sparky to play hide-and-seek, to roll over, to fetch: nothing. A...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

A girl tries to teach her new pet sloth, Sparky, to play hide-and-seek, roll over, fetch: nothing. After a misguided pseudo-ta...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

The understated text features subtle comic timing. When the protagonist first attempts to play with her unmoving pet sloth, she cycles through a series of games: “We played King of the Mountain and I won. We played Hide-and-Seek and I won. . . . We played Statue and Sparky wa...Log In or Sign Up to Read More