Slow Loris

Slow Loris - who is, well... a slow loris - liked to take things easy. It took him ten minutes to eat a satsuma, twenty minutes to cross the branch from one end of his enclosure to the other, and an hour to scratch his bottom, and the visitors to the zoo where he lived found him rather boring. So too did his fellow zoo animals, until the night they discovered his secret: that Slow Loris came alive at night...

English picture-book author/artist Alexis Deacon is someone whose books have been sincerely recommended to me a number of times, and recently having decided to explore his work, I thought I would start with this debut title. I enjoyed Slow Loris, although I found the artwork, which makes copious use of darker shades, and has a very show more earthy feeling to it, to be more interesting than the narrative. Although I can't say I was blown away by my first Deacon experience, I do plan to persevere (my friend was VERY enamored), and try another. Perhaps Beegu...? show less

My new most magnificently favorite kids' book! It's by Alexis Deacon, author of Beegu. The artwork is really great, there's some amazingly funny stuff (meerkats! slow loris skritching his bum! and more!). And you have NO idea what Slow Loris has been up to. You can try to guess but you will not be able to figure it out until you read it. Therefore, READ IT NOW!!!

An adorable book chronicling why the slow loris is so slow (hint: it involves secret, hilarious, and fun escapades when the zoo is closed). Some younger children may be a little frightened by the drawings simply from the dark eyes of the slow loris and other zoo inhabitants.

Slow Loris is a slow loris. All the other animals at the zoo think Slow Loris is boring because he is
very
very
slow.
All the visitors to the zoo this Slow Loris is boring because his is
very
very
slow.
But Loris has a secret...
One night the other animals at the zoo learn Loris' secret and discover he isn't quite as boring as they thought.

One of my all-time favorite picture books! A short simple store paired with wonderful illustrations make this book perfect for picture book lovers of all ages.

I volunteer at a zoo with a night house. We have a couple slow loris. They indeed move veeeeeery slowly. So the idea that they let down and party when no one is looking as this book suggests is too funny. A great read for anyone who loves animals.

Loris has very wild times at night where he truly comes alive even though he is super slow during the day!

Super Imaginative and fun! We never think about loris's being fast, but this book brings a new perspective. Super great illustrations and super fun story!

The illustrations here are nicely done, but the story is a bit thin, even for 3-4 year olds. Another problem is that the paper stock used for the book's pages is very thin, and not very sturdy. This is a big problem for younger readers, since the book has one page that has a lift-up flap (a door that Loris is behind), and another page that folds out to reveal a larger scene. Because the paper is so lightweight, it is VERY EASY for kids to accidentally tear the door or the foldout page. (I have the paperback edition, so perhaps this is not the case with the hardback edition.)

I took a chance on ordering this in part because it was so inexpensive through Amazon (around $7 when I ordered it). After seeing how thin the book and the pages show more are, though, I don't think it's worth the money.

I recommend Deacon's other book, Beegu, which our children love very much. Beegu has better illustrations, and the book itself is of much sturdier construction. (I have the hardback version, but it only cost about $3 more than the softcover of Slow Loris.) show less