Sloths are professionals at sleeping, but are they good at sleepovers??

In this delightful story of friendship, snoozes and snacks, Paloma and Sloth experience their first sleepover together. Sloth is initially delighted to receive an invitation to her very first sleepover, but when she arrives at Paloma’s apartment, she realizes she might be a teensy bit confused about what actually happens during a sleepover. Staying up all night?! That’s not what she thought was going to happen…

Paloma guides Sloth through all the customary fun-times of a sleepover, like good food, good games and good movies. Sloth gives it her very, very best and makes it through most of the late-nite excitement, fully alert and ready to party. Paloma doesn’t mind, though, when Sloth slowly starts to nod off. Maybe Paloma overestimated her ability to stay up all night, anyway!

What I enjoy about this story are several things. Paloma makes space for her good friend to be who she is, while inviting her to an activity that she’s enthused to share with her. At no point does Paloma become frustrated that her big, sleepy friend starts falling asleep, in fact she rolls with it and continues on with her task (like painting Sloth’s nails while jammin’ to good music). I also love that Sloth realizes she has to be truthful to her friend about not being able to stay up all night. This book embodies all the good feels of childhood sleepovers and could be a helpful introduction to sleepovers for children who are excited or even nervous to attend their first one.

The text of this story has just the right amount of flow to make a great storytime read; it isn’t too wordy and leaves enough room for the illustrations to pick up the task of completing the narrative. Russo does an excellent job of creating an intimate world of late-nite friendship and fun. There is a little stress (on Sloth’s part) involved too, but that’s realistic. Sometimes in friendships we struggle with being honest about our feelings and our abilities, even in the midst of having fun with those we love and trust. I love Paloma and Sloth’s open and trusting relationship.

The illustrations in this picture book are a mix of watercolors with digital lines manipulated in Photoshop. There is an openness to Russo’s illustrations that invites readers in. Sloth’s design, with her big body and massive open arms, is simultaneously comforting and impressive. Sloth has a natural grace to her movements and Paloma’s energy accurately mimics that of an excited and extroverted little girl. I love the detail of watercolor stripes in multiple shades of brown for Sloth’s fur. I also love how, throughout the book, Russo allows the bleed of the watercolors to flow outside of the confines of the bold digital black lines. It gives her illustrations a very relaxed feel. She uses brighter colors in moments of high emotion or activity, but most of the palette for this story are comforting browns, blues, purples and greens.

There is a real sweetness and relatability to the story of Paloma and her friend Sloth. I hope you take the time to enjoy Sloth Sleeps Over with your little ones! WONDERFUL job, Blythe!

Recommended for: All ages
Great for: Sleepovers, Friendships, Read-alouds, Honesty, Sleep
Book Info: Sloth Sleeps Over by Blythe Russo, 2022, Viking Books – Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9780593350959