ROCK-A-BYE BABY

A playful, sloth-centered interpretation of the classic lullaby.

It’s nighttime, and animals are snuggled up in the treetops with their babies: owls, big cats, snakes, and the stars of the story: sloths. And so the familiar words begin as an adult and baby sloth rock on a tree branch. When the wind “blows,” the “cradle” (the adult sloth’s body) begins to rock until the “bough breaks,” and the two land on the ground—safely—the parent relieved, the baby gleeful. This silly interpretation breathes new life into the centuries-old rhyme. The slow realization that the branch is about to break is apparent on the adult sloth’s face. The heavy-lidded eyes and look of slight concern, followed by the shock of understanding, clue readers in to the inevitable impending fall. The cartoonlike illustration depicting the fall shows the snap and drop, with just a single sloth arm clinging to a tree branch visible at the bottom of the page. It’s sure to elicit a smile from knowing adult readers. It’s not often that something old is redone so convincingly and simply, but this one hits the mark. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fun refresh of a childhood standard.