Destiny Finds Her Way: How a Rescued Baby Sloth Learned to Be Wild by Margarita Engle & Photography by Sam Trull (2023)

My kids and I read “Destiny Finds Her Way” before our recent trip to Costa Rica. Not only is this nonfiction picture book published by National Geographic (my favorite news source!), but it also received the 2025 Illinois Monarch Award from the Association of Illinois School Library Educators. This is a true story about Destiny, a Costa Rican baby sloth with an injured eye, who is rescued and rehabilitated. There is so much you learn beyond the story of Destiny, though. You will learn about the wildlife in Costa Rica’s rainforest. You will learn about the challenges sloths face. You will learn about sloth’s “poop dance” - my kids loved that one. You will also learn how committed Costa Rica is to the protection and preservation of their wildlife. 

Heart: We took our first trip to Costa Rica. I felt so immensely grateful to ring in 2025 in a country that is so focused on preserving their stunning, natural environment. We saw monkeys, Morpho butterflies, sloths, iguanas, massive grasshoppers, and more! My kids wondered whether one of the sloths we spied happened to be Destiny from the book. :) The recent destructive and heartbreaking fires in California signal the urgency of the climate crisis. We must follow Costa Rica’s lead and set forth on a path to preserve our natural habitats and restore our broken connection with Mother Earth. 

Head: In the note from the author, Engle shares a quote from the assistant director of the Sloth Institute, Pedro Felipe Montero Castro, “Everyone knows how to rescue, but no one knows how to release.” Something about this quote struck me - people are always eager to rescue injured animals, but the ultimate goal is the release. Afterall, wildlife deserves to be wild. The Sloth Institute aims to give injured sloths a “second chance at freedom.” Read their mission in the book’s back matter.