Tacky the Penguin

   When I was a little girl I was in love with children's books. Now that I am a 'big' girl, so to speak, I am still in love with children's books. So much so that it is my dream to publish one someday - hopefully in the very near future - but that is another story for a different day.
   I have collected hundreds of picture books. Though we do not have children of our own as of yet to read them to that certainly does not stop me from reading them to myself. And to my husband some nights.
   So, I would like to weekly share my findings. Shed some light, if you will, on some fantastic bedtime reading material for the tots that you might not know about. Or maybe you do.
  
   Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester. Ill: Lynn Munsinger.
   When I was 20 years old I lived in North Carolina and was at a friend's house for dinner. She pulled out this book and read it to her children, and in turn, us all. I have loved Tacky ever since. Tacky the Penguin is about 6 penguins who live together on an iceberg. 5 of them are very proper and regal and reserved, as you would think birds who always appear to be wearing tuxedos would be. Tacky wears a Hawaiian shirt and does absolutely nothing proper and regal and reserved. Just the opposite, in fact. Tacky is loud and strange and very unique.
   The thing with Tacky, however is that it is the odd things about him that make him so different from the other penguins that are the very qualities that make all of the difference in these books and eventually turn him into the hero. In this particular book (Yes, it's a series, sort of), his uniqueness saves him from the hunters. In others he helps to impress the penguin emperor, help his group win the talent show, and even save scout camp from the bear. And in each one he is a pleasure to follow and discover even more of his quirks. Kids love his zaniness. So do I. Tacky proves that you don't have to be like everyone else, or anyone else, for that matter. What matters is that you are true to yourself.
   Tacky books are awesome to read aloud (make sure to do the voices) and some of them even have a quirky song to sing. For whatever reason I have not met many people who even know of Lester's writings, but they are missing out. Tacky has not won any awards, but you don't have to have an award to prove you're fabulous!