| Valentine's Day Books Feb 15th 2012, 11:04 | I have both children's Valentine's Day picture books and beginning readers to recommend to you. Each children's book is worth buying because it can be enjoyed again and again. These holiday books are good read-alouds, provide positive reinforcement for sharing and being kind to one another, and have engaging illustrations that complement the text. Here's a quick review of each of them. The Valentine's Day picture book Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli, wonderfully illustrates the power of love and would make an excellent Valentine's Day gift for a four to eight year old. It is a charming book with a powerful message. The importance of love and kindness comes through loud and clear. Even very young children will understand how good it is to feel loved and how important it is to help others feel loved. (Simon & Schuster, 1992. ISBN: 0027860159) 
HarperCollinsSnowy Valentine is a sweet story, Jasper the bunny is anxiously looking for a special gift for his beloved wife. Lilly. He trudges through the snow to visit his woodland valley neighbors for ideas. While he gets lots of ideas, none of them will work for Lilly. When the fox invites Jasper in to brainstorm gift ideas, Jasper almost becomes part of a bunny stew, a Valentine's Day gift for the fox's vixen, but he escapes. However, he's cold, wet, tired and discouraged. The cardinal shows him a lovely necklace of winter berries, but Jasper still has nothing for Lilly. However, the cardinal, who is perched high in a tree looking down at the valley, sees that Jasper, in trudging through the snow throughout the valley, has created a giant heart shape. It's a wonderful symbol of his love fore his wife, and Lilly loves this special gift. The author and illustrator of this picture book for 3 yo 6 year-olds is David Petersen. (Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN: 9780061463785) 
HarperCollinsSplat, the lovable fluffy black cat with the skinny legs, is back. Splat was first introduced in Rob Scotten's picture book Splat the Cat. In Love, Splat, Splat has a crush on a Kitten, a pretty fluffy white kitten who is in his class. He makes her a Valentine despite the fact that every time she saw him, Kitten "pulled his ears and poked his belly, tied his tail and called him smelly." Shyness, insecurity, and a rival confront Splat, but he conquers them all and finds out, to his delight, the real reason Kitten keeps bothering him. Throughout his adventures, Splat is accompanied by his mouse friend Seymour. This is a funny, yet sweet, Valentine's Day story, one I recommend for 3- to 8-year-olds. (HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN: 9780060831578) 
Random House With a rhythmic text and whimsical illustrations, You're Lovable to Me celebrates the love between parant and child that transcends behavior and time and enables a mother rabbit to tell each of her six bunnies that, no matter what, "You're lovable to me."Â Later, she hears the same words from her own father who stresses that even though she is an adult, "When a papa loves a bunny, that's the way it will always be." Kit Weh's gentle story and Sue Anderson's lively ink and colored pencil illustrations in soft and strong pastels reflect a "big day" and "hard night" in a houseful of love. I recommend You're Lovable to Me for ages 2-5. (Random House, 2009. ISBN: 9780375860157) Here's another in Mary Engelbreit's beautifully illustrated series of Ann Estelle picture books. Ann Estelle loves to make things. She spends hours and hours creating an extravagantly decorated Valentine's Day box to hold the cards she'll receive from her classmates. She focuses so much on the box that she forgets to make Valentine's Day cards to give to her classmates. How creative thinking by Ann Estelle saves the day makes an entertaining story. (HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN: 0060081813) This Level 1, Ready-To-Read book is part of the Robin Hill School series. It was written by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by Mike Gordon. The story centers on class preparations for Valentine's Day and one little boy, Neil, who says, "I get too many Valentines. I do not want any more." How the class honors his feelings and still includes him in the celebration makes an entertaining story. (Simon & Schuster, Aladdin Paperbacks, 2003. ISBN: 0689855370) This children's Valentine's Day book is from the Nate the Great detective series for beginning readers by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Nate the Great starts out with one case, finding out who gave his dog a Valentine, and then, his friend Annie asks him to help her find a missing Valentine. This entertaining story, with lots of illustrations by Marc Simont, is both a good read-aloud for 4-8 year olds and a good book for beginning readers, grades 2-3. (Yearling, 1995. ISBN: 0440410134) This amusing picture book was written and illustrated by Diane de Groat. While I am not a big fan of books in which children are portrayed by a group of animals, I am willing to make an exception for a story like this one that deals with kindness and teasing. Teasing and hurt feelings are common among elementary school children. The author does a nice job of showing the consequences of both unkindness and kindness when exchanging Valentine's Day cards. (HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN: 0688136044) Yes, it's the same lovable dog from Olive, the Other Reindeer. This time, Olive is surprised when her friend Dexter the winged dog flies by singing of love and drops a giant heart by her door. Thinking it's a mistake, Olive goes to great lengths to return the heart to Dexter's home at the top of a cliff, only to find out, to her delight, that the heart is a Valentine's Day gift for her. The detailed computer art adds a cartoonlike flavor to the story. (Harcourt, 2004. ISBN: 0152047204) Jack Prelutsky's humorous story poems cover a wide range of emotions, from the love of family, pets, and friends to the awkward love/hate relationships that develop between pre-adolescent boys and girls. Yossi Abolafia's amusing illustrations add to the fun. This is both a good read-aloud for middle and upper elementary school children and a good read-alone for beginning readers. (Greenwillow Books, 1983. ISBN: 0688023118) The good size (about 10" x 10") edition of the popular picture book by Sam McBratney, with its captivating illustrations by Anita Jeram, is perfect for Valentine's Day. This story of the love between parent and child has become a classic since it was first published more than a decade ago. It would make a good Valentine's Day gift for both children and adults. (Candlewick Press, Gift edition, 2008. ISBN: ) Lee Bennett Hopkins edited this collection of Valentine's Day poetry and also wrote several of the poems in this beginning reader. The one dozen poems by a variety of poets range from humorous to sweet. The emphasis is on kids' emotions and experiences: feeling shy, feeling joy at receiving a Valentine, feeling blue at not receiving one, and feeling love - love for a pet, mother love, and more. The joyfully bright illustrations are by JoAnn Adinolfi. (HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN: 0060080574) What are some of the children's Valentine's Day books that your children particularly enjoy? Share your recommendations by joining the discussion on the About Children's Books Forum.  | |
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