Tacky's Christmas by Helen Lester

Just when I was mentally lamenting that we had not received a new "fun" Christmas book in ages, what should appear on my desk?!  Not, eight tiny reindeer, but rather a penguin!  Tacky the penguin!!!

If you  have a young child and you have not yet heard of Tacky, by golly get yourself down to your local library or bookstore and pick up Tacky the Penguin.  That's the first in the series and a great introduction to the definitely unique and loud and curiously rambunctious feathered friend (yes, penguins have feathers). 

In this latest tale, Tacky, plus his pals Goodly, Lovely, Neatly, Angel, and Perfect are all getting ready to celebrate the holiday.  They decorate their home in Nice Icy Land, wrap presents and sing carols.  It is in the middle of "Deck the iceberg wrap a gifty" that they realize they have no tree, and there's a shortage of such things in Nice Icy Land.  What should they do?!  Create a Tackytree of course!  It's red, and looks a bit like Santa Claus, but that actually comes in handy when the hunters from the first book arrive on the scene.

As a special bonus, a CD is included which contains Christmas songs dripping with richly satisfying Tacky appeal.  This book and CD set is a definite MUST SEE/HEAR this holiday season - especially if you have a penguin fan in your family.

Check out my Penguin Storytime for a sample of my "Tacky" coloring sheet I created (and just send an email if you'd like a copy) as well as other storytime ideas.

On the net there are also many helpful sites such as the Reading Lady's reader's theatre of  Tacky the Penguin; this great Mind Meister curriculum mapping guide; and some suggested 1st grade activities from Bright Hub.