K-Gr 2— When Jeffrey sits down to write a story for his homework assignment, he is faced with a blank sheet of paper and a raging case of writer's block. He starts to doodle instead, eventually drawing a pudgy sloth. The animal comes to life and begins to taunt him about his writing skills. It doesn't take Jeffrey long to realize that the lazy animal just doesn't want him to write about anything strenuous for the sloth to do. He beats the creature (and his own inner critic) at its own game by sending it on an arduous fictional journey in search of the world's coziest blanket. By the time he finds it, Jeffrey's homework, and the story, is finished. The theme of the book, that one's imagination can lead to unexpected places, is not new; nor is the notion of drawings taking on a life of their own. Jeffrey and Sloth is a good read-aloud to introduce units on creative writing to children. The acrylic and colored-pencil cartoon illustrations of the sloth's imperative journey add an element of silly fun, though the text crowds them on some pages.—Rachael Vilmar, Eastern Shore Regional Library, MD