Super Sloth: The Shar-Wolf of New York City

Aleesah Darlison

Cheri Hughes

Big Sky, 2023

140pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781922896537

On a remote itty-bitty island off the coast of Panama there is an itty-bitty community of itty-bitty creatures. And while the rest of these pygmy sloths are content to dwell in the trees and move around “as slow as a rainy winter weekend”, Romeo Fortez, is different.  At his naming ceremony, the heavens do spectacular and amazing things and  Romeo is imbibed with powers of speed, intelligence, and irresistibly hypnotic good looks. As he grows up, Romeo craves speed and adventure and even his parents know that Escudo Island would never be big enough for him. But then he overhears a reference to New York – the city that never sleeps – and he knows that that is where he must be…

But when Romeo eventually gets there after a journey involving a boat, a bus, a rusted bicycle, a logging truck, two trains and a plane,  he discovers that Professor Ian Weird-Warp, a geneticist obsessed with splicing animal genes together, has unleashed a gigantic mutant shar-wolf on the city. With the help of some new human and animal friends, Romeo forms a team of crime fighters to save the city from the evil Professor Weird-Warp and his mutant creation.

This is a new action-packed series for newly independent readers which combines the author’s love of sloths and superheroes with fast-paced adventures and humour underpinned by friendship and teamwork and the opportunity to learn a little more about one of the planet’s more curious species.. Darlison says, “My goal was to craft an engaging read that allows kids to escape from reality and enter an exciting and intriguing world where animals and humans can accomplish amazing things together,” and she has done this well.