Peter and Ernesto: A tale of two sloths (3 books)

by Graham Annable
2018 / 128 pages
Rating: Good/GREAT/Gift

As this tale begins, two sloth friends are “cloud picturing” looking up in the sky for whatever shapes they can find: “Rabbit,” “Bear,” “Ooh that one looks a little bit like a weasel.” It’s a fun game, but it unsettles the bigger sloth, Ernesto. “I like this piece of sky,” he tells his friend Peter, “But I must go… this is only one piece of sky, Peter. I want to see ALL of the sky! I must take a trip.”

Now, if you know a little bit about sloths, you’ll understand why Peter is shocked. Sloths don’t get out much, and what about the bears and lions? Peter is sure it must be dangerous!.

But the Ernesto is determined to go. And with hardly a glance backward he is off. And his adventure starts almost immediately, as he ends up crossing the ocean on the back of a friendly blue whale named Louie.

Peter is happy to stay behind… except that he is worried about his friend. So, some time later, he slowly, cautiously, and loyally sets out, determined to rescue Ernesto from whatever dangers are out there. He gets help too, from a friendly and encouraging parrot.

More animals are encountered, and with exception of one slightly scary polar bear, all of them become new friends to the adventuring sloths. That makes this a gentle tale that kids in Grade One through Four will really enjoy, especially because at more than 100 pages, it is long enough to really savor. 

There are two more in the series so far. In Peter & Ernesto: The Lost Sloths the friends’ tree gets taken out by a hurricane so they brave the forest to find a new home. And in Peter & Ernesto: Sloths in the Night the sloths set out to find a dragon. That might sound a little scary, but rest assured, this is another fun, gentle tale!