Last week The New York Times published a book review titled “Love for the Littlest,” which featured four new children’s books about Valentine’s Day. Here is my list of a dozen children’s books for early readers to commemorate the holiday. Included are few books from the Times’ book review, which I have starred below.
If you have more book suggestions, please let me know in the comments section below or by tweeting Education Week Commentary at @EdweekComm.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Arthur’s Valentine by Marc Brown (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 1988)
Arthur (everyone’s favorite aardvark) receives a card from a secret admirer and wonders if it is from his crush Sue Ellen, his friend Fern, or if it is a joke from his friends.
Consider Love: Its Moods and Many Ways by Sandra Boynton (Simon & Schuster, 2013)
Boynton’s critters and their rhymes celebrate the sweet and romantic side of the holiday.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff (HarperCollins Publishers, 2009)
Mouse (from If You Give A Mouse A Cookie fame) shows his love for his friends by making special valentines for them.
How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen (The Blue Sky Press, 2009)
Neovenator, Kentrosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, and more dinosaurs share their expressions of love with their human families.
* It’s Valentine’s Day by Jack Prelutsky (Greenwillow Books, Reissued edition 2013)
First published in 1983, this reissued edition has new illustrations to accompany 14 poems that reveal how children give cards, cakes, kisses, and more for a unique Valentine’s Day.
Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine by Barbara Park (Random House, 1999)
Kindergartner Junie B. Jones is looking forward to the cards and candy she’ll receive on Valentine’s Day, until a secret admirer gives her a card.
*Love You More Than Anything by Anna Harber Freeman (Sterling Children’s Books, 2013)
This new picture book is a good read for young children as they find out how this chipmunk family expresses their love to one another while on an outing.
Queen of Hearts by Mary Engelbreit (HarperCollins Publishers, Reprint edition 2008)
In this reprint edition, little girl Anne Estelle eagerly decorates her valentine box for her elementary school class when she forgets something important along the way.
Slugs In Love by Susan Pearson (Two Lions, 2012)
Shy slug Marylou adores Herbie. Though she thinks about him daily she has never said a word to him, until she finds her inner poet and crafts her way into Herbie’s mind and heart.
Snowy Valentine by David Petersen (HarperCollins Publishers, 2011)
Jasper Bunny visits his forest friends for ideas on getting his wife Lilly the perfect present.
*We Love Each Other by Yusuke Yonezu (Minedition, 2013)
The bold animal silhouettes in this new board book will charm early readers as they show how love comes in all shapes and sizes.
Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio (Simon & Schuster, 2011)
Lovesick--and undead--teen Mortimer walks his dog, serenades passersby, learns how to ballroom dance, and more on his quest to find the perfect girl to take to the Cupid’s Ball.