So, you should all know by now that I am freak about children's books (it's probably the elementary teacher in me). I ESPECIALLY love books for holidays, and I have a collection for each one. My tradition is to buy one new book each year for each holiday (yes, that's alot of books)! I set them out only around the holiday time..and I can't wait until Addyson is old enough for me to share them with. Here are my favorite books for Valentine's Day reading.
Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie Friedman
This is the book I bought this year. It tells the story of Ruby Valentine, who loves Valentine's Day. She prepares all year for it, making cards and gifts for each person in her town. She is so exhausted from all that hard work that she falls asleep and misses Valentine's Day! She wakes up on February 15th and decided to pass out her goodies anyway. It has a great message about how you can show love any day of the year, not just Valentine's Day. The story is all rhyming, and the pictures are darling.
Queen of Hearts, by Mary Englebreit
Who doesn't love Mary Engelbreit? Of course the illustrations are intricate and gorgeous, but the story is equally charming. Ann Estelle works tirelessly to decorate her Valentine's Box for school... she adds feathers, ribbon, jewels, and a squirt of her mother's perfume. On Valentine's Day, she arrives at school so excited to show off her box..and realizes she forgot to make the VALENTINES to pass out! How does she solve this dilemma? You'll have to get this book to find out!
Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, by Diane de Groat
Here is what the back cover says about this book: "There they were, fifteen blank Valentine cards waiting to be filled with nice valentine poems for classmates. But how can Gilbert write a nice poem for the boy who tweaked his nose, or the girl who made fun of his glasses?" This book has a great message about kindness and forgiveness.
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli
This one might be my favorite. Mr. Hatch is a recluse who works in a shoelace factory, eats the same lunch everyday, and keeps to himself. He has no friends or family. He never smiles. One day he receives a package from a secret admirer... and it changes his life! He starts laughing, smiling, dancing, being friendly to others, helping people and being a friend. After several months, he finds out the secret admirer package he received was a mistake, and was not intended for him. He goes back to being his gloomy, sad, boring self..but all of his new friends have an idea! They decide to throw a huge party ..and invite all of the people who love him. He realizes that people do care about him after all!
Any one of these books would make a great Valentine's Day gift...for a child or an adult! I read a great idea on Kristi's blog...when you give your child a book as a gift, write the date in it, and a little note inside the front cover. You might even want to glue in a picture taken on the holiday. When your child is grown up, they will have a collection of books, and memories!
2 comments:
When I was little, I loved Valentine's Day. Cindy and I would cut out millions of hearts. We would go to the store and buy those paper doilies and glue our hearts on to them. To this day, I love candy conversation hearts...we are on our 3rd bag so far! Cute Cute Books! Can't wait to read them.
Buying books for holidays other than Christmas and birthdays are a good idea. I especially like that you gave recommendations. I have gone to Barnes and Noble before but there are so many holiday books that it takes forever to go through them to find a good one. Keep giving recommendations for other holidays.
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