And for Easter Monday a replacement bunny in the shape of a sloth called Sparky.
You know how it is, a child wants a pet and the parent does not want a pet. In Jenny Offill’s book the narrator of the story wants either a bird or a bunny or a trained seal, but her mother says no to all three. But, she can have any pet she wants as long as it doesn’t need walking, bathing or feeding.
With the help of the school librarian, our heroine finds that a sloth will be perfect. (Mother had not expected that!) The girl names her pet Sparky.
Sparky sleeps well. All the time. His owner trains him, but he doesn’t train terribly well. Our heroine needs to prove what a good pet she has, so plans a Trained Sloth Extravaganza, offering ‘countless tricks.’
Well… at least Sparky is good at playing dead.
There is some lovely humour in this book, with atmospherically slothy illustrations by Chris Appelhans.
The Occasional Bookwitch 