Slow Loris

Slow Loris
Written and Illustrated by: Alexis Deacon
Published: April 2002
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slow-loris-alexis-deacon/1005179359

Slow Loris is a book about a slow loris. Every day people come to the zoo to see all the animals, and every day everyone is bored by the loris because he is so very slow. So slow that they've named him Slow Loris. But Slow Loris had a secret. At night, when no one else is around, he is fast. One night, someone sees Slow Loris not being slow; the gossip soon spreads throughout the whole zoo, and the next night every animal came to see Slow Loris be fast. That night a party was had by all, and the next day, all the animals were too slow to entertain the zoo's visitors, but they had a secret of their own.

This is sweet book about something not always being what it appears on the surface. Slow Loris isn't slow, but because he is a little different (he's nocturnal), everyone assumes he is, and as a result, the people visiting the zoo and the animals all judged him: "The visitors all thought Loris was boring. The other animals thought so too." However, once word spread that he really just waited until night to be his wild self, all the other animals wanted to join in on the fun and they celebrated all night, only to be as boring as Slow Loris in the morning.

Another theme present in this book is the importance of being true to yourself and forgiveness. After it is revealed that everyone thinks Slow Loris is boring, the reader learns that Slow Loris does not care what they think because he can have fun all by himself at night. Additionally, when all the other animals want to join in the fun, he welcomes them whole-heartedly.

As great as these themes are for a picture book to have, what I think makes this book really special are how the illustrations and text not only reflect, but seem to create the story. For example, the second and third pages of the book are both broken down to display three pictures with text in between. In each picture the people come and go, but Slow Loris only moves him arm about 2 inches. The multiple images really display the lethargy of his movements, but the text in truly adds to this idea. On the third page, when the reader has realized just how little the loris appears to be moving, one sentence is broken down underneath all three pictures. "He really was....very...slow." Page four and five are illustrated with one picture of the loris climbing down a branch. The sentence stretches along the length of the entire branch, supporting the text's claim that it took Slow Loris "twenty minutes to get from one....end of his branch...to the other." The text continues to work with the illustrations to provide a truly listless feeling. Until it is revealed that Slow Loris really moves at night. This shift in the story is reflected in a completely new type of illustration. Whereas the rest of the book is illustrated with drawings, one page, with one word (FAST...) is illustrated with a very blurry, close-up photograph of loris. The next 2 pages are technically one picture, but unlike the beginning where the double-page spread is broken into six illustrations with the Slow Loris barely moving. This page has one large picture that shows the Slow Loris in ten different positions that move from left to right.

Another interesting way that the illustrations highlight the story is a fold-out page when Slow Loris is discovered by the first group of animals. The outside of the fold-out displays the group looking through a square cut out that just reveals black with lots of white markings. The fold-out opens up to reveal Slow Loris banging on pots with the animals looking down at him through the square cut-out. The next night when all the animals were watching him, the page is almost completely black, until a flap is opened like a door and Slow Loris is crawling through with a hat on his head and bright tie around his neck.

Finally, the illustrations also utilize color to reflect the story. When it is daylight and Slow Loris is lounging, the walls are all light and the framing present on some pages is cream. However, when it is night and Slow Loris is his true crazy self, the walls are dark and the framing is black to reflect that darkness outside. Additionally, there is little bright color on any page, with the sole exception the double-page spread that illustrates the party had by all the animals. On this page there are multi-colored paint splatters that really add to the wild and crazy feeling.

Overall, I truly loved this book. The story was quite cute, but it was the illustrations and the text layout really sold me on it.