This monthly feature usually reviews learning devices, toys or furniture, but if you haven't noticed, the economy is in the toilet and wallets are clamping shut. Lucky for you and your children, thousands of inexpensive and/or free (hello, library card!) adventures are waiting to be experienced from, you guessed it, picture books.

I'm sure you don't need us to tell you that reading to your children is one of the most important educational and bonding exercises possible, but choosing the right books is paramount. From a personal standpoint, the books I choose for my son without his input are usually not the ones he ends up loving. So how do you search through the thousands of titles online to find the ones that will work for your family?

Enter one of the coolest websites I've seen (and Time Magazine agrees) in a very long time. Lookybook is an online resource that allows you to flip through picture books in their entirety (from cover to cover!) to help find the right books for your family, all from the comfort of your own couch.

Take a look at how Lookybook works.




From Lookybook's website:

Picture books are for looking at. Lookybook allows you to look at picture books in their entirety-from cover to cover, at your own pace. We know that nothing will replace the magic of reading a book with your child at bedtime, but we aim to replace the overwhelming and frustrating process of finding the right books for parents and their kids.

The world's longest bookshelf. Libraries and bookstores have limited space, so the only book covers you see are generally best sellers. But what about all of those other books-new books, obscure books, undiscovered gems that are stuck sideways on the shelf, or worse, in a warehouse somewhere. Since we have infinite shelf space, every book on Lookybook is displayed cover out and searchable by a number of different criteria.

Look and buy. Think of Lookybook as the test track for picture books. Picture books are all about the pictures and we want you to know what you get if you buy it. No longer will you order a picture book online hoping the inside is as good as the cover. Just take a look at a book and if you like it, click to 'buy book' and we will send you to a store.

Your Bookshelf. We value the book reviews of librarians and industry experts and we especially value the opinions of moms and dads. Because we are a site for looking at and discovering new books, we want to know what you think and like. Not only can you share your comments about a particular book, you can share all your favorite books by creating and posting your Bookshelf. Fellow Lookybookers can look at your favorites and show you theirs-creating a virtual show-and-tell about today's best picture books.

After registering for a free account and spending time on the website, I have found some great new options for our home library and have added tons to my online bookshelf, which will definitely come in handy for holiday gift-giving requests. I've purchased some of our new favorites, but have also located a few titles at our local library during our weekly toddler adventures.

However, my favorite part about this website is the option to read the books without purchasing them. I can't tell you how much my son enjoys sitting in my lap and "flipping" through the book's pages on my laptop. If you are a fellow picture book lover, I highly recommend checking this website out. In my book, it deserves an A+.