Score One for the Sloths is a 2001 picture book written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.
The students of the Sleepy Valley Sloth School are absolutely slothful and completely content. So when a new student, Sparky, arrives and tries to inject a little energy into their routine, they push her away. However, then a visitor from the Society for Organizing Sameness arrives to close down their school, and only Sparky can save it.
This book includes examples of the following tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: The other sloths reject all Sparky's attempts to play with them as too active and shove her away, leaving her feeling incredibly unwelcome on her first day of school.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: Occasionally the principal of the school will drop in and tell the class they're the laziest bunch she's ever seen. Of course, given that they're all sloths, this is a compliment.
- Clothing Reflects Personality: Sparky's choice of outfit hints at her unusually active personality — she's the only sloth in the class not wearing pajamas.
- Fun with Acronyms: The boar comes from the Society for Organizing Sameness, or the S.O.S.
- Genki Girl: Sparky has much more energy than the others and gets herself rejected trying to raise their interest in activities. Naturally, this means everyone turns to her when they need to do something to save the school.
- Go-to-Sleep Ending: The book ends with the class, including Sparky, taking a nap after successfully convincing the boar that he doesn't need to close down Sleepy Valley Sloth School.
- Sluggish Sloths: The sloth residents of Sleepy Valley Sloth School spend most of their time sleeping, and have poor academic scores as a result. Sparky on the other hand is a subversion of the trope, being quite out-going and proactive, and she tries to convince the other sloths to do the same.
- Meaningful Name: Sparky brims with vim and vitality.
- Sleep Cute: The book ends with all the sloths curled up for a nap in a single hammock.
- Talking in Your Sleep: To "show" the boar their expertise in poetry, Sparky tells the others to recite "The Way of the Sloth." They've known it since childhood and can recite it while sleeping, so they do.
- Visual Pun: A "wild boar" comes to the Sleepy Valley Sloth School. Said boar wears a very brightly colored, mismatching outfit, which demonstrates its wildness.
