365 Penguins

365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental
Illustrated by Joelle Jolivet
2006

     "On New Year's Day, at nine o'clock in the morning, a delivery man rang our doorbell. I opened the box - a penguin!"  There was no sender's name on the box, just a note that said: "I'm number 1. Feed me when I'm hungry."  Next day, another package arrives with another penguin. The next day another and by week's end, 7 penguins are running around the house.  And the penguins keep coming, one a day, every day, for a whole year...365 penguins.  
     I love this book.  Maybe it's the fact that it has a math component to it; the family keeps finding ways to organize the penguins by dividing, calculate the new costs of living by multiplying, and packing the penguins in by calculating area. What else can a Math lover like me wish for in a picture book?  Now add to that the clever illustrations, the enlarged format, and the thrill of looking amongst hundreds of penguins for a special one with blue feet, and you have found a perfect book for me.   As a teacher, it's a great book to explore math concepts, calendars, but also science since there is an environmental discussion that arises from the premise of penguins being displaced because of global warming.  This is one of my new favorites!