Betty Vasquez: New Favorite Books for Valentine’s Day

I’m so excited to have one of my real life besties here today! Teresa is a former teacher, an amazing mama, and puts out the best posts on instagram on what she’s currently reading with her three boys. So much so that I finally broke down and begged her to put together a list for all of us.

Here she is with what her and her boys are reading this Valentine season…

Admittedly, Valentine’s Day isn’t the biggest deal around our house. Maybe it has something to do with having three boys, but we just don’t get too into it.

We put up a few decorations, make a Valentine treat, and try to remember to write notes to each other about things we appreciate about one another, but beyond that, there aren’t many festivities. That’s where children’s books come in so handy, though!

We can always find several books centered around a holiday that we enjoy and it gives us a way to savor the special meaning of a holiday without too much fanfare otherwise.

Here are a few of our Valentine favorites:

I Love You Already by Jory John and Benji Davies is hands-down our new favorite.

The two characters, Bear and Duck, have a hilarious curmudgeon vs. excitable thing going on and my boys just laugh aloud at the things they say. It’s a sweet story about friendship that we will come back to all year long.

The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning was a last-minute, must-include book. It’s absolutely adorable in telling the story of a grandson who wants to send a real hug to his grandmother.

It’s hard to find, but worth the effort.

Mr. Prickles: A Quill-Fated Love Story by Kara LaReau tells the story of Mr. Prickles, who tries to be friendly, but eventually turns sour after no one wants to be around him. Eventually, he finds Miss Pointypants and the two become friends and also decide it’s a waste of time being grumpy about everyone else.

It’s a precious story and makes us laugh as well as consider how to treat others, but it’s also full of wonderful vocabulary, which adds another fantastic element to story time.

Slugs in Love by Susan Pearson is the tale of two slugs who desperately want to find each other and go out of their way to do so, only to be thwarted by rain, people, and other bad luck. They finally find one another and it’s love at first sight!

Here Comes Valentine Cat by Deborah Underwood is another in the Here Come…Cat series. My kids love all of these books and Valentine Cat doesn’t disappoint.

I love that Cat doesn’t actually speak so you get to use the narrator’s text and Cat’s facial expressions to practice inference, which is such an important skill for new readers to practice.

Snowy Valentine by David Peterson was a new find for us and I’m so glad we came across it.

It’s a sweet story of looking for the perfect gift for someone, which I think is a wonderful skill to think about with our children. This book explores the concept well with fun characters and makes you chuckle along the way.

One Zillion Valentines by Frank Modell is a classic and a great one to read before sitting down to fill out those class Valentines!

The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda A. Ferber is one I didn’t think I would like. We try to steer clear of words that might become insults in our house and this book does have a few, although most of them are pretty funny.

But overall, the story is a very sweet tale about Leon who really likes Zoey. Even after other kids say it isn’t cool to like her, he still does, which is a nice way to enter into conversation with our kids about similar issues.

Hugs From Pearl by Paul Schmid is a precious, quick read about a porcupine who really wants to give hugs.

The illustrations are simple and graphically pleasing and it’s fun for younger kids to find out how Pearl solves her prickly problem.

Love Monster by Rachel Bright is my six-year-old’s favorite right now. He loves the bold illustrations and the funny vocabulary and everyone loves the happy ending!

Love Monster and the Last Chocolate is another book by Rachel Bright that we love. It’s such a great story about generosity and thoughtfulness.