Valentine Book Review

Happy Valentine's Day! The kids reviewed books they thought represented Valentine's day.

Noelle's review: The Velveteen Rabbit written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson

Noelle feels this book is the perfect example of pure love. She likes the story of how the boy loved the rabbit so much that he became real. She really likes the fairy that magically appears from the flower. We have read this story many times and it is always a delight. This particular hard bound edition has remastered the illustrations from the first 1922 edition. It's almost 12" in height so you can really enjoy the pictures.

Jasper's review: Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day is Cool written by James Dean and Kimberly Dean and illustrated by James Dean

Jasper has a few Pete the Cat books.  In this book Pete initially doesn't think Valentine's day is cool but quickly learns that it is. This book is also fun because it includes a poster, stickers, and Valentine cards.

Evette and Margot's reviews: 

Elmo Loves You written by Sarah Albee and illustrated by Maggie Swanson

All of my kids have loved this book. Elmo captures the attention of every baby and toddler and in this cute board book Elmo rhymes his way through what all of his Sesame Street friends love while reminding the reader that he loves them.

Will You Be My Sunshine written by Julia Lobo and illustrated by Nicola Slater

Such a sweet board book about unconditional love. The illustrations are very colorful and it makes you happy as you read it.

Julius: I Love Color: A Paul Frank Book written by Paul Frank Industries and illustrated by Sara Gillingham

A silly finger book. All of my kids have enjoyed finger books. This one is super colorful and the illustrations are funny. Noelle did point out that it's missing purple!

Noelle's Favorite Books

And finally, Noelle's current top 10 favorite books.

10. If You See A Fairy Ring: A Rich Treasury of Classic Fairy Poems (Robert Graves, Laura Ingalls Wilder, William Shakespeare, Rose Fyleman, Annette Wynne, Juliana Horatia Ewing, Annie Rentoul, Thomas Hood, and Steven Kroll) illustrated by Susanna Lockheart

This is a magical collection of poems by classic writers. The pages mysteriously move as you turn the page. Noelle is captivated by the poems and the images.

9. Uni the Unicorn written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Brigette Barrager

Noelle received this book from her Grandma. It's the perfect book for Noelle. Her love of unicorns, rainbows, wishes, magic, dreams, flower fields, and everything else little girls love is in this book.

8. A Rainbow of My Own written and illustrated by Don Freeman

This story is about a boy who wants a rainbow of his very own. It's quite a short read but the illustrations are just beautiful. Freeman really captures the magic of a rainbow and a rainy day as well as a little kid's imagination and desire to have his own rainbow. Noelle loves that in the end he does get his own rainbow (I won't spoil the ending by describing how).

7. The Little Raindrop written by Joanna Gray and illustrated by Dubravka Kolanovic


A gorgeous pastel adventure of a little raindrop. The story and illustrations are so wonderful that you don't even realize you are learning about Earth's water cycle. I especially enjoy the last couple of illustrations of all the little raindrops getting ready to begin their journeys.

6. Dream Animals: A Bedtime Journey written and illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin

Ok... this book is absolutely dreamy and lusciously gorgeous! Our kids received Martin's book The Wonderful Things You Will Be from their Grandma and I just loved the illustrations so I checked out Dream Animals and Day Dreamers from the library. I fell in love with them and so I had to own them. My kids enjoy picking out which dream animal is theirs. But oh my, if you don't own this book, you should. Prints of her illustrations can be purchased for your child's wall at Society6 or on her Etsy site theblackapple. What a great artist!

5. McDuff Comes Home written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Such a cute dog story. Susan Jeffers really captures the personality of the little Terrier, McDuff. In the story he gets lost after chasing a rabbit. He even takes a ride in my favorite vehicle, a motorcycle with sidecar. There are a number of McDuff stories but the illustrations in this one are so sweet.

4. Pony Scouts: Really Riding! (I Can Read Level 2) written by Catherine Hapka and illustrated by Anne Kennedy

Noelle is starting to read and so I got her some I Can Read! books. I chose the Pony Scouts series because Noelle is such a horse lover. I find these books great because they use horse terms and provide the definitions at the end. So not only is she learning to read but she is also learning about the horse world. This series is also about three little horse loving girls so Noelle really relates to the characters.

3. Pony Scouts: Pony Crazy (I Can Read Level 2) written by Catherine Hapka and illustrated by Anne Kennedy

This is the first book in the Pony Scouts series. It introduces the three characters and how they formed the Pony Scouts. The bedroom of the main character, Meg, reminds me of Noelle's room - horses and ponies absolutely everywhere.

2. Unicorn Wings (Step into Reading) written by Mallory Loehr and illustrated by Pamela Silin-Palmer

This is a gorgeously illustrated reading book. The story is about a unicorn that wants wings. A perfect book for Noelle. I would definitely recommend this book for any little girl that loves winged unicorns.

1. The Flowers' Festival written and illustrated by Elsa Beskow

Elsa Beskow is Sweden's most well-known children's author and illustrator. This book is about a little girl that gets invited to the Midsummer Festival by the flower fairies. Noelle loves flowers and this book brings all different types of flowers to life. The illustrations are so beautiful. Noelle likes to pretend she's Queen Rose.