A keeper: Happy New Year book with penguins

So five years into being a Mom, I am convinced that there are a ton of great children's books out there for reading out loud to your kids and a ton of books that are just painful. Personally, I've had a hard time finding the great ones, so I thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences and encounters with children's lit.

Our latest fav is 365 Penguins (in my case, "our" is Aidan, five, and Liam, two). This penguin adventure is seasonally lovely because it isn't Christmasy, but instead focuses on the concept of a year. Premise is that a family starts receiving a mysterious gift of a penguin a day for a whole year. You can imagine the capers that ensue for a family of four that has to deal with first 31, then 59, then 100 and more and more penguins.

There are repetitive devices thrown in (the ding dong of the doorbell throughout) and the introduction of an especially adorable penguin with blue feet, which help to keep the two-year-old engaged. The older is delighted by the storyline works its way into story math problems and complex and crazy reactions from the family members.

The one thing to note about it as read-out-loud book is that it is very oversized. Better to see the entertaining illustrations with, but not so great for holding after awhile. Still, definitely worth it.