The Super Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie
Scholastic AU; RRP: $19.99AUD 

The Speedy Sloth came out about this time last year, and then featured as this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime book – enjoyed by thousands of Australian readers! The Super Speedy Sloth continues the adventures of this beloved character, created by superstar team Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie.

Last time we met Spike the sloth, she was fighting off the naysayers who discouraged her from entering a running race. This time, Spike has even bigger dreams! She wants to be a SUPER speedy sloth, who rescues creatures in need. But the tricky thing about being a sloth is that, try as she might, Spike is just not quick enough to be a first responder. Each time she hears a cry for help, she’s beaten to the glory by a fast-moving gibbon or hyena. Until the emergency involves a swamp and some….quicksand!!

This story is a wonderful read aloud with a steady, formulaic (in a good way!) narrative, rhyming text and plenty of onomatopoeia. The page layout emphasises character names and sound words in bold, making it more visually interesting, but also controlling the reading pace. Illustrations are bright with focus on facial expressions and physical representations of feelings; Spike’s emotions can be read on her whole body, which is highly relatable for little readers.

The overall message is an upbeat look at playing to your strengths, and recognising that while not everyone has the same skillset, we all have talents worth acknowledging. This is a super option for end of year giving. Why not combine it with Aura Parker’s glorious Bowerbird Blues, recently re-released to be the 2024 NSS feature book?

Buy The Super Speedy Sloth from your favourite local or independent bookstore if you can. Or straight from the publisher here.