Books of Love

Last weekend, desperate to keep the kids busy with something…anything, I sent them on a scavenger hunt. We finally emptied the Christmas books from the basket in the living room so I sent them to search for all of our Valentine books. I thought they would just find the books we have given them as gifts on Valentine’s Day, the ones with messages of love written inside. But they found every book they could find about love. They’d run to me each time they found one, from their bedrooms, the playroom, or the basement, book held high in the air. Out of breath with excitement and from running around the house, they would blubber their justification for the book’s spot in the basket.

This scavenger hunt got me thinking about the books I would give the girls this year. Over the years, I’ve found some really great books that some how perfectly express all the love I have for them.

Last week I wrote about Matt de la Peńa’s Love, which I’ve already determined as everyone’s birthday book for 2018. Here are some of our favorites from the last few years as well as a few contenders for Valentine books this year:

Love Is, by Diane Adams

This book was actually a gift to our family when Rose was born. A few people have told us that the little girl in the story reminds them of our girls. Love Is tells the story of a little girl caring for a baby duck until the duck is grown and moves back to the pond. In the story, love endures. I love how the love in this story transcends the story of the girl and the duck and can tell the story of any true love.

Before You, by Rebecca Doughty

We gave Wren this book last Valentine’s Day. This simple story would be a great gift for a significant other but works for kids too. It shows how life is better together. “Before you I was a polka with no dot…Then you arrived and changed the time!”

That’s Me Loving You, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This was Adi’s gift last year. I’ve revisited this one often through the year. When I first bought it, I think that was before Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s letter went viral, before she passed away, I remember thinking that the words were just perfect. Amy got it right. The words remind the reader, that even when apart, there are small signs that your love is always there. I’ve thought often, that this book must be such a gift to those who loved her and are now missing her. “That drifting cloud. That’s me thinking of you.”

This is Not a Valentine, by Carter Higgins

I’ve read a lot about this book on social media in the last few months. I was eager to read it and it did not disappoint. This book will definitely be a gift for one of the girls this year, I think for our oldest, Wren. It’s a great story of friendship. I really like that this book is about a boy that really cares for a girl in his class. He notices little things about her and gives her gifts to show he cares…but “This is not a Valentine, since I don’t only like you today. I like you tomorrow and next Tuesday and last week, too.” (That’s from my favorite page.)

Words and Your Heart, by Kate Jane Neal

This is another book we are going to give this year. It’s all about the power our words have, for good and for bad. I think this would make a great addition to classroom libraries, especially in a time when technology makes it easy for us to use words without seeing the immediate impact they may have on others. It’s a nice reminder that our words matter.

I’m still on the hunt for one more Valentine book for Rose’s first Valentine’s Day. As you can see from the picture above, we already have a lot of love stories. What’s your favorite?