It's time for another round-up of holiday picture books! (I've also done Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). I love teaching Eleanor about holidays via books - so we checked out a handful of Valentine's Day themed books from the library, and bought a couple at Bookmans. She's all excited to make valentines for her friends now!
The Berenstain Bears' Valentine Party. This one reminds me of the Valentine celebrations of my childhood - simple little cards handed out among classmates, not tons of candy or Pinterest craftiness. Eleanor really likes it too because each page has a couple of lift-the-flap Valentines to open and read. The insulting valentines that Sister Bear and Barry exchange make me chuckle. Rating: 4 out of 5
Biscuit's Valentine's Day. We've never read any Biscuit books before, which is perhaps why neither of us was completely enthralled with this one. It is cute though - I like that Biscuit gives the cat a ribbon to play with as his valentine. The thing that cracks me up about this one (as with several of the others) is how snowy every picture is. Obviously this book was written for people who aren't celebrating Valentine's Day in Southern Arizona! Rating: 3 out of 5
The Ballad of Valentine. This one is an adorable story of a hapless lover, with a text written to the tune of Oh My Darlin' Clementine (but substituting the word Valentine). I really like the text, and the down-homey pictures. It's a little bit wordy for Eleanor, she wasn't super interested, but I think the 3-5 year old crowd would probably love it. (But fair warning: you WILL be singing Oh My Darlin' Clementine all day after reading it). Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Clifford's Valentine's Day. This one is a pretty generically cute Clifford book - he "helps" Emily Elizabeth make Valentines for everyone. The hilarious part is when Emily Elizabeth says to Clifford (as she's describing the first Valentine's Day they spent together when he was a puppy), "In those days we used white paste to stick decorations on our valentines. Clifford liked the smell of the paste." (1) Is this promoting glue-sniffing? Ha! (2) "In those days"?? How old is Emily Elizabeth supposed to be? Rating: 3 out of 5
Valentine Mice! I didn't like this one quite as well as Thanksgiving Mice!, but it was still cute. The mice are scurrying through the snow to deliver valentines to their friends when one of them disappears. The rest look around anxiously, only to find their friend buried in a pile of snow. Can they work together to rescue him?! The pictures are adorable, and I like the rhyming text. Rating: 4 out of 5
Have you read any cute Valentine's Day books?
Psst: this post is part of my Love of Reading Week 2013 series, and contains Amazon affiliate links.
