Synopses & Reviews
The sloths at Sleepy Valley Sloth School were content in their slothfulness. Once in a while the teacher would awake and command them all to yawn or snore, but most of the time, the class just slept. One day, a new sloth arrives. She isnt much like a sloth at all. She is a go-getter, a mover and a shaker—which is to say she actually moves. By mid-morning shes driven the other sloths crazy. They think shes a pest, and she thinks theyre nothing but a bunch of bores, that is until a real boar arrives—an official representative of S.O.S. (Society for Organizing Sameness) sent to close the school because of their low academic scores. Something has to be done, and all eyes turn to Sparky. Even with all of her energy though, Sparky cant save the school alone.
Readers are sure to enjoy this humorous tale that celebrates the value of both individuality and being true to oneself.
Review
"The winning duo Lester and Munsinger have done it again. The snappy text is laugh-aloud funny and incorporates a message that the intended audience often needs to hear."--Booklist, starred review "Team Lester/Munsinger are a success because they are simple, direct and elementally charming."--Kirkus "Lester's prose is dashed with humor throughout, as is Munsinger's characteristically emotive artwork."--Publishers Weekly "The message is forthright, but the delivery, as always, is subtle and nuanced, and loads of fun."--School Library Journal "This playful approach to important lessons in sharing and listening is a sure winner for classrooms and families alike."--Bulletin
Review
"Unerring authenticity. . . . [The book] is spot on."--
Chicago Tribune"Gripping."--VOYA
"A compelling story suffused with raw and honest emotion."--Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A winner for kids and adults who'll be reading it again and again." Booklist, ALA
Review
An amusing, if decidedly sleepy, tale of sloths and the very relaxing atmosphere of their school-an institution thrown in jeporady by a bureaucrat of conventional stripe-from the hand-and-glove team behind Tacky the Penguin and Wodney Wat. Sleepy Valley Sloth School lives up to its name: nobody here but drowsy sloths. They snooze through their lessons-so do their teachers-through their recess, through their study hall. They sleep "until six o'clock when the custodian swept them out, and they rolled home.". . . One day a disruptive influence makes the scene: ayoung fireplug of a sloth named Sparky, who tries to light some fire under her classmates. . . "'What a bunch of bores.'" she signs. Then a real boar pushes through the door, an operative from the Society for Organizing Sameness, come to close the school for failing in all subjects. Sparky saves the school by dazzling the organization man with feats of reading, music, math, and poetry. Who says sloths are underachievers? They're being sloths, and just how many creatures have had their name elevated to a common adjective? Only Munsinger could so perfectly catch them in all their languid glory, from the opening page when they are quite literally "just hanging around" as loose-limbed and zonked-out as anything ever seen, to as nearly awake as a sloth can get while piled up in a heap trying to pay attention. And the belly laughs induced by Lester's words will Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
"Score another one for Lester and Munsinger, Readers will hope the sloths return for a rematch." Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly
"Lesters laid-back text is packed with silly puns, and Munsingers hilariously detailed line-and-watercolor pictures express the delicious relaxation of Sleepy Valley Sloth School, where everyone, teachers and kids, literally hangs around." Booklist, ALA
Synopsis
In this hilarious picture book, best-selling author/illustratorand#160;team Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger (Tacky the Penguin)and#160;teach Greedy Gruntly that sharing just might have its own rewards!
Synopsis
A book about sharing for one and all! Gruntly isand#160;a hogand#8212;a ball hog, a snack hog, a treasure hog! He doesnand#8217;t share his toys with his pals and, in fact, helps himself to theirs! And when Gruntly finds out about Saturdayand#8217;s treasure hunt, he canand#8217;t wait for the first clue so that he may be the one to find the treasure and keep it . . . all for himself. From the delightful duo that created Tacky the Penguin and Hooway for Wodney Wat, Helen Lester and Lynnand#160;Munsinger deliver another playful and delightfully illustrated tale about the dangers of going hog-wild and show, in the end, that sharing just might have its own rewards!
Synopsis
Jenna and Jeremy knew their parents' marriage was in trouble. But no one could have predicted what would come next. Now with Mom dead and Dad in jail, Jenna and Jeremy must re-create a family of their own. But each guards a secret that could send their fragile new lives into a tailspin.
Newbery Honor winner Julius Lester paints a dramatic portrait of a family forced to confront the unimaginable.
Reader's guide included.
Synopsis
When a fuzzy tennis ball lands in a prairie-dog town, the prairie dogs discover that their newfound frenzy for fuzz creates no end of trouble.
Synopsis
Deep, deep down in their underground town, the prairie dogs live in harmony--until a mysterious, fluorescent, very fuzzy
thing (otherwise known as a tennis ball) rolls down their hole. When the prairie dogs discover that they can pluck and pull the fuzz into fabulous fashions, their fear quickly turns to curiosity, then delight, then pure greed.
The frenzy that erupts threatens to tear apart the prairie-dog town forever. But when mean ol' Big Bark is kidnapped after taking all the fuzz for himself, the prairie dogs come to the rescue and remember the true meaning of community.
Synopsis
The three principal characters compete against one another. Then one day they must learn to cooperate.
Synopsis
Tackys an odd bird, or Penguin rather, who likes to do splashy cannonballs and greet his companions with a loud “Whats happening?” In fact, hes something of an eccentric, which wouldnt be a problem if all the other penguins werent such . . . conformists.
In their usual zany style, Lester and Munsinger demonstrate the problems and advantages of being an individual. Now in Spanish, Tacky is perfect for children learning Spanish and for Spanish-speaking children.
Synopsis
Tackyand#8217;s an odd bird, or Penguin rather, who likes to do splashy cannonballs and greet his companions with a loud and#8220;Whatand#8217;s happening?and#8221; In fact, heand#8217;s something of an eccentric, which his fellow penguins find somewhat bothersome until his odd behavior saves the day!
Synopsis
Tacky is an odd bird who marches to the beat of his own drummer. Heand#8217;s something of an eccentric, which wouldnand#8217;t be a problem if all the other penguins werenand#8217;t such . . . conformists. Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger have teamed up to tell Tackyand#8217;s story, about the day when some hunters come to the penguinsand#8217; Nice Icy Land, and how Tackyand#8217;s individuality saves the day!
Synopsis
Award-winning author Julius Lester tells a heartbreaking story about the devastating effects of domestic violence.
Synopsis
Tacky's perfect friends find him annoying until his odd behavior saves the day.
About the Author
Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger have been together through thick and thin since first publishing The Wizard, the Fairy, and the Magic Chicken in 1983. They have collaborated on the hilarious Tacky the Penguin series and many other wildly funny and popular titles, including the award-winning Hooway for Wodney Wat. Helen Lester is a full-time writer who makes her home in New York, and Lynn Munsinger is a full-time illustrator living in Vermont.LYNN MUNSINGER has illustrated more than ninety books for children. She graduated from Tufts University in Boston and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where she majored in illustration. She lives in Connecticut and Vermont.