Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths

I still don't really understand the fascination with sloths; they're interesting creatures, but why not hyenas? Or bongos? Anyways, sloths are IN right now and this simple graphic novel will be enjoyed by sloth fans and others.

Peter, a stay-at-home gray sloth and Ernesto, an adventurous beige sloth, are best friends. But when Ernesto decides to take a trip and see the rest of the sky, Peter is worried and upset. Ernesto doesn't stop to think about his friend at first; he is busy exploring the wonderful world outside his tree. He sees many amazing new pieces of sky, makes new friends, and even travels across the ocean. Meanwhile, Peter slowly overcomes his fears to set off in search of his friend. He runs into the same obstacles as show more Ernesto, and at first feels he simply can't face them. However, his friendship makes him brave and, in his own fashion, he faces all obstacles to find his friend.

In the end, both Peter and Ernesto have learned something about themselves and about the world around them. Although they covered much of the same ground, their very different perspectives gave them an opportunity to see things in a different way. Annable's art is a good match for the simple but thoughtful text. The colors are mostly greens and earth tones, with simple lines and mild humor in the sketched large eyes. The text is minimal, but a great deal of story is told in the sloths' mobile faces.

While not factually accurate (sloths are actually excellent swimmers) this is nevertheless an amusing tale of exploring the world and following your dreams. The text is simple enough to hold beginning chapter readers but there is enough depth to the story and art to capture the interest of older children as well.

Verdict: This quiet story is amusing and makes an excellent addition to the beginning chapter graphic novel genre. While I'm not as wildly enthusiastic about it as some reviewers, it will certainly find an audience and planned sequels are sure to be popular.

ISBN: 9781626725614; Published 2018 by First Second; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Hilarious sloth adventures from two very different friends. Peter the cautious, Ernesto the curious -- I love how they both have adventures, even though the adventures differ a lot, and they both ahve a gift for making friends, even though they make them in different ways. Minimal text, great picture storytelling. Lots of fun.

An adorable graphic novel about friendship, worrying, and adventure. It reminded me of an old favorite [b:Toot & Puddle|1032414|Toot & Puddle (Toot and Puddle)|Holly Hobbie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1223632427s/1032414.jpg|1018693] -- one friend wants to stay home, the other wants to see the world.

The only thing missing for me was jokes about how slow sloths are. I kept waiting for there to be some twist about how it was taking ages for Peter and Ernesto to get anywhere, but, alas, it didn't seem to factor in. Still, I think a good number of kids will already know that sloths are super slow and find it funny on the face of it that a sloth wants to travel around the world.

Overall very cute and compelling. I loved the ending. show more All around an easy sell to even the most reluctant readers. show less

*Reviewed from uncorrected e-galley.*

children's graphic fiction (talking sloths go on adventures). I loved this! Such a sweet friendship between the two sloths, and so many charming characters met during their adventures when one of them decides he needs to see the rest of the sky. Another quality story from First Second.

Adventurous Ernesto wants to see more than one "piece of sky," but his friend Peter worries that "it's too dangerous" out there. Determined, Ernesto climbs out of their tree and goes adventuring; eventually, Peter works up the courage to follow his friend. When the two are finally reunited, they exclaim at the same time, "You won't believe the adventure I had!!" Thick black outline surrounds each panel (there are between 1-4 panels per page), and the characters are outlined in black as well. The sloths, as well as the other animals, have expressive faces that show a full range of emotions during their journeys.

This book would be great for Primary and Intermediate
It is about two sloths that are friends and go on adventures
This book would be a fun one to have in the classroom as a free time read since it is a graphic novel that does not have many words in it.

Eh. I really wasn't into the artwork (I'm not really sure what the sloths looked like, but to me, it wasn't sloths), and the story was pretty weak.