SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Under Fire
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://angelhorn.com/
CITY: Vancouver
STATE:
COUNTRY: Canada
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LAST VOLUME: SATA 405
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in the United Kingdom; immigrated to Canada.
EDUCATION:University of British Columbia, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, designer, and educator. Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, former instructor. Writer in residence at Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2014. TopNest, mentor. Has also taught at the University of British Columbia, Royal Canadian College, and San Francisco State University. Worked previously as a singer/songwriter.
MEMBER:Writers’ Union of Canada, Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators & Performers.
AWARDS:Monte Miller Award; Young-Adult Book Award nomination, Canadian Library Association, 2013, Best Books selection, Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC), and White Pine Award nomination, both 2014, CBC 100 YA Books That Make You Proud to Be Canadian selection, 2015, and Westchester Award, all for Audacious; CCBC Best Books selection, 2014, and Sheila A. Egoff Prize for Children’s Literature finalist, BC Book Prizes, 2015, both for Capricious; Sheila A. Egoff Prize for Children’s Literature, BC Book Prizes, 2017, for Zero Repeat Forever.
WRITINGS
Hildegarde was adapted as a novel, published by HarperCollins Australia.
SIDELIGHTS
A writer based in British Columbia, Canada, G.S. Prendergast creates films and fiction aimed mainly towards young people. In her verse novels Audacious and Capricious, Prendergast focuses on a creative teen and her efforts to remake herself after a move to a new town, while The Frail Days finds a talented young drummer willing to challenge the current trends during a performance at a summer music festival.
Middle graders are her audience in Pandas on the Eastside, a story about a preteen whose passion for her urban neighborhood leads her to rescue two neglected Chinese pandas in need of a safe home. In Pinch Me a pop star wakes up to find that his fame is gone and been replaced by an ordinary high school existence. Prendergast is also the author of picture books for younger readers, including If Pluto Was a Pea and Dear Polar Bears.
In Audacious readers meet Raphaelle, a talented and creative teen who is determined to reinvent herself when her family moves to a new town. Renaming herself “Ella,” she establishes her spot within the social culture at her new high school and focuses on her artwork. Romance enters the picture when she meets Samir, a Muslim artist who shares his uncertainty regarding his religious identity. Unable to act on her feelings for Samir, Ella communicates them through an explicit work of art. When a classmate broadcasts a photograph of the drawing, Ella is humiliated and her parents are questioned by school authorities. Prompting her disturbing behavior is a dark secret that is ultimately revealed. While dealing with the consequences of her act in Capricious, the teen continues to act out sexually, pursuing her sexual relationship with Samir while also exploring a secret romance with David.
Reviewing Audacious in Resource Links, Leslie Vermeer wrote that the novel “explores important, highly topical themes in an intelligent way, and never moralizes or patronizes.” “In deft, layered verse, Prendergast chronicles her heroine’s desperate search for a positive identity,” noted Gail Bush in Booklist, and a Publishers Weekly critic wrote that the author “demonstrates a powerful understanding of the adolescent search for identity.” Appraising Capricious, Amanda MacGregor wrote in School Library Journal that “Ella stands out as realistic and nuanced,” and “her candid approach to sex, lies, and friendship should attract a wide audience, especially readers who are drawn to deep and sometimes dark issues.”
Sixteen-year-old Stella is passionate about old-fashioned rock and roll, and when readers meet her in The Frail Days she is searching for a lead singer for her garage band. When bass player Miles hears Tamara sing the national anthem at a local baseball game, he is sure that the fifteen-year-old would be the perfect fit, and Stella agrees. Although they are both passionate about their music, Stella and Tamara have different creative visions, however, and as the date for the summer music festival approaches they must find a compromise that allows each young musician to remain true to herself.
Designed as a quick read for teen readers, The Frail Days nonetheless provides food for thought; it address “healthy and unhealthy female friendships and empower readers to be true to themselves when faced with societal or peer pressure,” according to Voice of Youth Advocates contributor Courtney Huse Wika. “Prendergast displays excellent insight into what makes young artists tick in this short novella,” noted a Kirkus Reviews writer, and in Resource Links, Joan Givner wrote that, “while the themes are serious, the lively first-person narrative by the iconoclastic Stella … makes this a dynamic and funny novel.”
The young-adult novel Aftershock tells the story of a natural disaster in Canada that strengthens the relationship between estranged half-sisters. Amy is finishing tenth grade when an earthquake strikes. Her mother is out of the country for work while her father is stuck in Vancouver as a result of earthquake damage. Mara, Amy’s half-sister, picks her up from school, and they face the earthquake effects together. When the girls cannot reach their homes, they gather emergency supplies and walk. After being welcomed at a Sikh temple, Amy and Mara are taken away by soldiers. The girls work together to escape this situation, which seems strange to them in what a Kirkus Reviews writer described as an “adventure story.” The same critic took note of the “nonstop action” in the “relationship-driven novel,” recommending it for “reluctant readers.”
In Zero Repeat Forever, an alien invasion has devastated Canada, and a group of teens had banded together to survive. One of the teens, Raven, happens upon an alien soldier called Eighth. As the two get to know one another, they are forced to question their existing perceptions. Prendergast discussed the inspiration behind the book’s setting in an interview with Victoria Waddle on Waddle’s self-titled website. She stated: “I certainly called upon my childhood enduring Saskatchewan winters. I’ve never nearly drowned, but I have swum in many a near freezing lake. It’s … refreshing! We spent a lot of time outdoors as kids and the winter cold was both beautiful and terrifying. It was important to me that the winter be almost like another antagonist in the book, someone you can’t turn your back on, you can’t trust. Someone who will kill you if given the chance.” Regarding the lessons to be learned from the book, Prendergast told Aleesha Harris, contributor to the Vancouver Sun: “I hope people think about how easily so-called civilization can slip into barbarism in the right (or wrong) circumstances. I also hope people remember to always look for the human in their enemies or opponent no matter who they are.”
The Crosswood is the first volume in Prendergast’s “Faerie Woods” series. It introduces readers to a teenager named Blue, who enters the perilous magical woods to find his foster brother and sister, Indigo and Violet, who are twins. Blue learns that Indigo and Violet are the Faerie prince and princess and that their disappearance could have catastrophic consequences. Blue races through various fairy worlds, determined to bring Indigo and Violet home before sundown. Reviewing the book in School Library Journal, Hillay Perelyubskiy suggested: “The characters feel flat, making it difficult to be emotionally invested in their outcome.” Perelyubskiy concluded: “It misses the mark for older reluctant reader[s].”
Prendergast made her picture-book debut with If Pluto Was a Pea, illustrated by Rebecca Gerlings. Aiming to put the sizes of the planets in the Earth’s solar system in perspective, the book follows an African American child and a white one as they enjoy a backyard campout. With an astronomical book handy, they think about the sizes of all the planets by comparing them to the demoted “dwarf planet” Pluto if it were represented by a pea. Mercury, for example, becomes a marble, while Saturn becomes a pumpkin. The digital pictures alternately show the scene of the campout, a look at the nighttime sky, and images over solid white backgrounds. With measurements given in the English as well as the metric system, the “stolidly repetitive” text is perfect for the “mathematically minded,” as a Kirkus Reviews writer observed. The writer appreciated that “an effort is made to keep the objects in proper proportion.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer was fond of If Pluto Was a Pea, observing how writer and illustrator capture the young friends’ “sense of wonder and relatable quest for adventure—both in their camping excursion and curiosity about galaxies beyond.”
In her next picture book, Dear Polar Bears, illustrated by Marcus Cutler, Prendergast features a polar bear party. As soon as penguins deliver party invitations, the polar bears pack their bags for a trip to Antarctica. Their journey consists of seeing the wonders of the world, including Machu Picchu and the pyramids in Egypt. After they arrive at their destination, the polar bears are treated to a feast of fish by the penguin friends. The book ends with a party atmosphere and a brief note about climate change. A Kirkus Reviews writer described Dear Polar Bears as “lighthearted fun for all … with some solid underlying messages.”
Prendergast once told SATA: “I’ve always been interested in writing. Even before I knew how to write I would ask my mother to staple sheets of paper together into books so I could scribble in them. What got me started actually writing was seeing Star Wars in 1977 (I was 10). I started writing my first (unfinished) novel soon after that and have been writing ever since.
“I think Margaret Atwood influenced me quite profoundly when I was younger. Also John Irving. Now I find I’m influenced by books or series that really captivate me. It was Harry Potter for a while, then it was The Hunger Games. More recently it’s been Holly Black and Sarah J Maas. But now I’m getting into hard sci-fi so it really depends on my mood.
“When I start to pursue a premise the first thing I do (after thinking about it for days or weeks) is try to write the pitch or blurb, almost as though I’m writing a query letter to an agent or publisher. What is the book about, who is the protagonist, what is the conflict, what books does it compare to? Is it ‘this meets that’? If I can make it sound good in two or three paragraphs then it’s something worth pursuing. The next thing I do is write a rough outline, along with pages of notes and sometimes the first chapter comes in there. That’s usually a very messy time. There will be character outlines on one page and then a map on the next page, then another character, then a rough scene idea, then a list of names or locations. Then I start writing or polish the outline into a more formal chapter outline. It depends on the book. I used to ‘pants’ books—that is write them freely from page one with no outline, but that takes far too long so I don’t do that anymore.
“I want readers to have fun reading. I want young readers, especially, to see themselves in my books, to see all their worries and insecurities but also their successes and strengths. I want them to read more.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 1, 2013, Gail Bush, review of Audacious, p. 63.
Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2013, review of Audacious; February 15, 2015, review of The Frail Days; May 1, 2019, review of If Pluto Was a Pea; April 1, 2023, review of Dear Polar Bears; July 1, 2023, review of Aftershock.
Publishers Weekly, September 16, 2013, review of Audacious, p. 56; June 5, 2019, review of If Pluto Was a Pea.
Quill & Quire, March 14, 2014, Grace O’Connell, review of Audacious.
Resource Links, March 1, 2014, review of Audacious, p. 35; February, 2015, Joan Givner, review of The Frail Days, p. 34.
School Library Journal, April, 2014, Amanda MacGregor, review of Capricious, p. 173; 2020, Hillay Perelyubskiy, review of The Crosswood, p. 92.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2013, Morgan Brickey, review of Audacious, p. 64; April, 2015, Courtney Huse Wika, review of The Frail Days, p. 64.
ONLINE
Canadian Children’s Book Week, https://bookweek.ca/ (June 9, 2021), author interview.
CBC, https://www.cbc.ca/ (November 12, 2019), Ryan B. Patrick, author interview.
Gabrielle Prendergast website, https://angelhornpages.wordpress.com (October 5, 2023).
Vancouver Sun, https://vancouversun.com/ (August 28, 2017), Aleesha Harris, author interview.
Victoria Waddle, https://victoriawaddle.com/ (December 17, 2017), Victoria Waddle, author interview.
Young Adulting, https://youngadulting.ca/ (March 15, 2021), author interview.*
Gabrielle is an award winning writer, teacher and designer living in Vancouver, Canada. She is represented by Esty Loveing-Downes at the Howland Literary Agency.
Gabrielle writes picture books and middle grade and YA contemporary and historical as Gabrielle Prendergast. Her science fiction and fantasy is published as G.S. Prendergast. She has won the Monte Miller Award, the Westchester Fiction Award and The BC Book Prize as well as being nominated or short listed for numerous other honors. Gabrielle has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and has taught writing at Sydney University, San Francisco State University, UBC, Royal Canadian College and at numerous conferences.
In 2014 she was the Writer in Residence at Vancouver Public Library. In 2015 she was nominated for the BC Book Prizes and chosen to tour the province to promote BC Books. In 2017 Gabrielle took part in the TD Canada Children’s Book Week Tour. She has also been nominated for the White Pine Award and the CLA Award.
Gabrielle won the Westchester Award for Audacious. Audacious was included in CBC’s list of 100 YA Books That Make You Proud to be Canadian. A poem from Capricious was chosen for the 2014 Poetry in Transit Program.
Pandas on the East Side was chosen as an Ontario Library Association Best Bet for Junior Fiction in 2016. It was also nominated/shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Award, The Red Cedar Award, the Diamond Willow Award, the Myrca Award and the Vancouver Book Award. It was both a BC bestseller for multiple weeks and a Canadian bestseller.
Her 2017 Book Zero Repeat Forever won the BC Book Prizes Sheila A. Egoff Prize for Children’s Literature. She participated in the BC Book Prizes Tour again in 2018, visiting schools and libraries in south eastern BC.
She is interviewed by The Vancouver Sun, The Vancouver Courier, Born Bookish, BC Booklook, Me on Books and Clear Eyes Full Shelves. You can watch a video interview with BC BookLook here.
Q&A with Under Fire author Gabrielle Prendergast
Author Interviews | Interview | Literacy April 10, 2025
In Gabrielle Prendergast’s new high-interest accessible novel for teen readers, sixteen-year-old Poppy and her brother are home alone when a nearby wildfire builds and threatens to burn down their farm. Hear from Gabrielle about what inspired her to write Under Fire and how her writing process differs depending on what audience she’s writing for.
What inspired you to write Under Fire?
My first inspiration was to write about a massive earthquake, which I did in Aftershock. But I like writing sets and trilogies, so it made sense to do a trilogy of disasters. I chose a flood for Flash Flood, and a wildfire was an obvious choice for the third book. Interestingly I lived through a pretty bad wildfire season in Australia in 1994. It was called “historically bad” and made world news, but now it seems fires like that happen every year, somewhere.
What drew you to writing novels with a climate disaster focus?
I’ve always loved survival stories, and I’ve noticed that a lot of reluctant or struggling readers (I like to call them undiscovered readers) are often tempted with books like Hatchet or the I Survived series, so I wanted to offer them something like that.
Your books often have complex and heartwarming sibling relationships at the heart of them. How do you craft those compelling relationships?
I have three sisters, and we’re all quite close in age, so close sibling relationships are very familiar to me—the good and the bad! Usually, the siblings I write about are mirrors of one another in many ways, rather than very similar. With my real sisters, I’m very like one of them, but the other two are more like mirrors, but they are nothing like each other!
What was your favorite part about writing Under Fire? Do you have a favorite scene or character?
I always like writing the final conflict scene, the big push, where the hero or heroine usually has to face up to something very challenging alone. I think the scene like this in Under Fire is particularly effective because Poppy is so exhausted that she has a kind of mystical vision. I love when I’m able to sneak a little magic into reality-based stories.
Throughout Under Fire, the stakes keep getting higher—and at one point, Poppy doesn’t think she can keep going. How do you decide how far to push your characters?
The limit does not exist. You know that expression “God chooses the strongest warriors for the toughest battles”? I keep pushing my characters as long as it makes sense for the story and for them. But I make sure they are strong enough to survive.
What do you hope readers will take away after reading Under Fire?
I hope they will take away that people are often stronger than they think. I also hope they’ll have some insight and empathy into what it’s like for people caught up in natural disasters or violent conflicts.
You also have a picture book, Go, Sloth, Go!, coming out in the spring! How does your writing process differ depending on the age group you’re writing for? How does your process differ when you’re writing a hi-lo novel or a regular novel?
When I write picture books, I always think about what the shared experience of the child and the caregiver will be. How will the book work in a “read-to-me” situation? For my other books, I don’t think as much about how they might work when they’re read out loud, though I usually read them out loud to myself as part of my process. The main thing that differs when I write hi-lo is that they need to be shorter and very contained. So I outline them very carefully and in quite a lot of detail. My other books are much longer, and the writing process is much looser. I make a lot of stuff up as I go along. I had no outline at all for The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Reading should be fun, but there are so many kinds of things to read that everyone should be able to find something they enjoy. Whether it’s long epic fantasy or hi-lo novellas, or graphic novels, or audio books, or cookbooks, or websites, or videogames or magazines, find something you like to read, and read that.
Gabrielle Prendergast is the award-winning author of numerous books for children and teens. She won the BC Book Prize for her YA sci-fi novel Zero Repeat Forever and the Westchester Award for her YA novel Audacious. After years of working in social welfare and the music and film industries, Gabrielle began writing books when she became a mother so that she could work from home. She is the author of Aftershock and Flash Flood in the Orca Anchor series. Gabrielle lives in East Vancouver.
Flash Flood
Gabrielle Prendergast. Orca, $10.95 paper (96p) ISBN 978-1-4598-3821-5
Prendergast (Aftershock) chronicles the epic adventure of two white-cued foster brothers trying to survive a natural disaster in this intense climate drama. For the past three years following his parents' deaths in a car accident and his grandfather's refusal to become his guardian, 17-year-old Zack has been living with kindly foster parents the Tates, who help him manage his ADHD. Zack's relative peace is disrupted by the arrival of 14-year-old Peter. Having been removed from his neglectful parents' care, Peter struggles adjusting to his new circumstance, an experience that's further complicated by his fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which he says "makes him slow to learn. And clumsy. And sometimes he makes bad choices." During a rainstorm, Peter runs away, prompting the Tates to search for him, leaving Zack alone at home. When Peter returns without their foster parents, the two boys must journey together to safety after the town levee breaks. Though Zack and Peter continuously clash over the course of this harrowing read, their growing bond and mutual realization that they are stronger together than apart emphasizes the simple messaging of this brief story about family. Ages 12--up. (Aug.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
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"Flash Flood." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 22, 3 June 2024, p. 109. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800536314/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9c915507. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Prendergast, Gabrielle FLASH FLOOD Orca (Teen None) $10.95 8, 13 ISBN: 9781459838215
"Messed-up kids get attention. Good kids get left alone."
After his parents died and his grandfather refused custodianship, 17-year-old Zack ended up in foster care. He's spent the past three years living with kindly Susan and Jon Tate. With the arrival of 14-year-old Peter three months ago, Zack's peaceful existence has fractured. While Zack and Peter both share ADHD diagnoses, the similarities end there. Peter's turbulent home life with his neglectful biological parents and his fetal alcohol spectrum disorder prompt him to bristle and lash out at the Tates and their stability and behavioral expectations. When Peter runs off in a fit of frustration during a dangerous storm, Susan and Jon trust Zack to stay home alone as they head out to find Peter. But Peter returns before the adults do, and with the water levels rising and the house flooding, the boys must work together to survive a harrowing trek to higher ground. Zack's first-person narration and the straightforward vocabulary will quickly engage readers. The imagery describing ADHD provides a generalized introduction to the condition, and a mention of medication is framed in a way that honors bodily autonomy. The pacing and tension rise and flow with the floodwaters, whisking readers along but leaving little opportunity for richer exposition and characterization, leading to an abrupt conclusion. Main characters read white; names signal some ethnic diversity among supporting characters.
A fast-paced, plot-driven story for reluctant readers. (Adventure. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Prendergast, Gabrielle: FLASH FLOOD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A797463267/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d28fe54d. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
* PRENDERGAST, Gabrielle. The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt. 192p. Orca. Mar. 2025. pap. $14.95. ISBN 9781459838895.
Gr 3-6-A meaningful, heartwarming read exploring different types of families, housing insecurity, selective mutism, postpartum depression, and the power of creative problem-solving in quiet advocacy. Sara is a soon-to-be fifth grader whose brother is born premature and needs to spend time in the hospital. She is sent to Toronto to live with her half-sister Abby until her brother can come home. Abby lives in a storage container home and is working on creating transitional housing for the unhoused. Sara has selective mutism and has to find creative ways to communicate her needs, especially after meeting unhoused folks who are camping and wanting to advocate for them. The novel is written in letters from Sara to her baby brother, making it a fast-paced, accessible read perfect for an early middle grade reading level and great for the classroom. Kids with big feelings and compassion will relate to Sara's experiences. Prendergast explores powerful themes in a way that is hopeful and shows kids they too can make a difference. VERDICT A must-purchase for exploration of advocacy for kiddos with sensitive souls, and a great choice for group reading. Pair this with The Lonely Book by Meg Grehan.-Taylor Skorski
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Skorski, Taylor. "PRENDERGAST, Gabrielle. The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt." School Library Journal, vol. 71, no. 1, Jan. 2025, pp. 58+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A836878716/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1c7704d9. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Prendergast, Gabrielle THE ANXIOUS EXILE OF SARA SALT Orca (Children's None) $14.95 3, 11 ISBN: 9781459838895
A young girl learns to express herself in this epistolary novel.
Ten-year-old Sara Salt has anxiety and selective mutism. Her baby brother, Oliver, was born premature and is still in the NICU, her mother is recovering from the birth and dealing with postpartum depression, and her stepfather is working to support them. Amid the chaos, Sara is sent to stay with her adult half sister, Abby, in Toronto. To grapple with her big feelings, Sara writes letters to Oliver. She begins to learn about the issues facing unhoused people as she helps Abby build a transitional housing community. Sara discovers that she doesn't need to speak to make a difference as she starts writing letters, not only to her brother, but to the mayor, the police, the librarian, and her neighbors. This charming and engaging book has much to teach readers about anxiety disorders, homelessness, and family, but Sara's narrative voice never feels didactic. Most of the lessons are cleverly worked into the story as she explains things to Oliver or processes them for herself, which makes the educational moments feel authentic. Many readers will relate to Sara, whether they share the same experiences or they just struggle to make themselves heard. Sara reads white; Abby's maternal grandmother is Chinese.
A sweet, touching story of a young girl forging connections and coming into her own.(Fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Prendergast, Gabrielle: THE ANXIOUS EXILE OF SARA SALT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A827101092/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=02bd8696. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Prendergast, Gabrielle UNDER FIRE Orca (Teen None) $10.95 4, 15 ISBN: 9781459838222
After their mother's death from cancer, a teen girl and her older brother embark with their father on a new life.
The family has moved away from Vancouver, British Columbia, to start over on a farm. Jed, who has an unnamed intellectual disability, is thriving; he enjoys and is highly skilled at farmwork. But Poppy isn't convinced. She dreams of traveling the world and teaching English and worries their fresh start might not have been entirely wise. But wildfires pose a more pressing concern. When their father volunteers to help fight a fire, Jed and Poppy are left on their own as the flames bear down on the farm. This simply told, breakneck story focuses on Poppy and Jed's struggle to make their way to safety. While depth of characterization is sacrificed in favor of plot, the action is compelling. The siblings race against time to save their animals, face natural destruction and devastation, and are forced to rely on their trust in each other. The damage the fire wreaks on their community in an era of climate change is topical and dramatic but not overwrought in its presentation. Jed is competent and resourceful, able to hold his own on their journey and support Poppy. However, he's framed entirely through narrator Poppy's first-person perspective and often described via his struggles and symptoms. The characters are racially indeterminate.
A fast-paced, exciting survival tale for reluctant readers.(Adventure. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Prendergast, Gabrielle: UNDER FIRE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A830532528/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2623e222. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Prendergast, Gabrielle GO, SLOTH, GO! Orca (Children's None) $21.95 5, 13 ISBN: 9781459838864
After plummeting from a tree, the titular sloth embarks on an unexpected adventure.
Poor Sloth! Blown about by rough winds, she tumbles from her leafy home and hurts her toe. Luckily, a helpful, brown-skinned human comes to her aid. The story is told entirely in three-word rhyming sentences. The sloth's dramatic descent is summed up with a "Blow, sloth, blow" and "Whoa, sloth, whoa!" "Oh, sloth, oh! Your toe, sloth, your toe," exclaims the sloth's rescuer. The kindly human transports the sloth to a veterinarian, who X-rays her ("Glow, sloth, glow") and stitches her up ("Sew, sloth, sew"). Finally, the sloth's new friend returns her to the wild: "Go, sloth, go. Slow, sloth, slow." The bulk of the storytelling falls to the illustrations, which expand on the spare yet peppy text. The sloth's deep burnt-red hues pop nicely amid the verdant setting, while her delightful, human-inspired facial expressions exhibit everything from the surprise of falling from the tree to the anguish of her injury. Though a note at the end provides information on sloths and the dangers people pose to them, this story offers a more positive spin, demonstrating how we can effect positive change. Together, images and words make for a well-told tale that highlights the often-fraught relationship between humans and animals.
A simply told, feel-good nature rescue.(Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Prendergast, Gabrielle: GO, SLOTH, GO!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A843450049/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=06ae72e5. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.