Children's books for Valentine's Day 💖
Can we read? Special edition on Valentine's Day 2025
Whatever your feelings about Valentine’s Day, I hope you receive a lovely surprise — and remember that someone loves you.
Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild, illustrated by Charlene Chua (2022)
This sweet, uplifting celebration of bravery, authenticity, and the joy of being loved is a perfect Love Day 🐯 pick for early to mid-elementary readers. (That’s a Daniel Tiger Easter egg, for those of you wondering if my fingers slipped and I included that emoji by accident — there are no emoji accidents, I assure you.)
Perhaps it’s because I’m a softie for stories about first love, courage, self-expression, and the leap of faith it takes to be vulnerable with someone who holds your heart, but this tender, heartwarming tale — brimming with all those themes as Violet, a shy and thoughtful girl, finds ways to express her feelings for her classmate Mira — is deeply relatable to anyone experiencing similar emotions. (And if you think children don’t know what it’s like to have a crush, well, you haven’t spent enough time with actual children.)
This emotional resonance is a testament to Chua’s warm, evocative illustrations and Sullivan Wild’s skilled narrative, making this a sweet salute to the guts it takes to be true to yourself and be loved for who you really are in return.
Little You by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Julie Flett (2013)
This is a board book, and one for the tiniest among us, but secretly I think it was written for parents too, because it is, if nothing else, a deep and true love song — the song any parents who have ever wanted a baby so badly they can barely stand it has sung: “You are life and breath adored / You are us and so much more.”
Van Camp’s almost incantatory prose is rhythmic enough for babies to enjoy and stunning enough to convey the immense love behind his words. Flett’s pencil, watercolor, and gouache collages depicting a Native family are just lovely (there is a reason she has won so many awards for her work) and littles will like the fact that there is a baby to see on every page. The back cover of this title says, “Celebrate the joy babies bring into the world,” and this is exactly what it does.
The House of Love by Adriana Trigiani, illustrated by Amy June Bates (2021)
This longer read — best for kiddos with a well-developed habit of listening — is entirely focused on the warmth of family, community, and the magic of Valentine’s Day.
The story follows Mia as she and her mother go all out for their big family Valentine’s Day party — cozy, inviting scenes full of rich sensory details and Bates’ watercolor, gouache, and pencil-on-paper illustrations — but when the time comes to pass out valentines, Mia doesn’t receive one. Has she been forgotten?
I love this tale for the way it captures the joy of holiday traditions and family bonds — it reminds me that even when I feel exhausted by the effort I put into these things in my own home, it’s always, always worth it — but what stands out is the special relationship here between mother and daughter, and the idea that working together, being generous with each other, and sharing our hearts is a grounding, evergreen kind of love.
Sylvester’s Letter by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Josh Cochran (2023)
“Some letters can’t be delivered in the usual way. But I have a plan.”
So begins this incredibly touching story of a little boy who plans to travel the world and overcome all kinds of challenges along the way — from skydiving to catching a train to traversing a river full of piranhas and pink dolphins — just to deliver a letter to his beloved G.G.
The catch is — and this is where I started crying when I first read this — G.G. is no longer in this world, no longer reachable by letter, though that may not matter. This beautiful narrative, coupled with Cochran’s wild and energetic digital illustrations, helps young readers see that we can grieve our loved ones and still stay connected to them, in a way, at the same time.
When Love is More Than Words by Joceyln Chung, illustrated by Julia Kuo (2024)
Love isn’t always spoken aloud, or expressed in words. Sometimes — even often — “it can be carried by hands, found in a taste, or felt in a touch. In things seen and unseen.”
This is the lesson shared in a very straightforward way here by a little girl, who tells the story of the unspoken love in her family by sharing what each member does to express that love — her grandmother who cooks for everyone, her piano teacher who prays for their whole family tree, her mama who rubs medicine on her chest.
Kuo’s bright, almost cinematic digital illustrations bring all this caregiving and family generosity to life, helping make the love manifest — an engaging read for preschoolers to early elementary kiddos that might spark some conversations about the actions of love in your own family, as well.
Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals by Jess Keating (2016)
Okay, sure, this is an unconventional Valentine’s read, but if you have a nonfiction lover, look no further than this fun and educational title featuring some of nature’s pinkest creatures, from the blobfish to teeny tiny pygmy seahorses to hairy squat lobsters (“hairy squat” is quite the mental image 😳) to my personal favorite, pink fairy armadillos, which are just…wild.
I think I’ve reached a point where I will read basically any book about animals? but truly, like the other equally excellent titles in Keating’s The World of Weird Animals series, this one is chock-full of fascinating photos, facts, and humorous writing — not only introducing elementary-aged kiddos to a variety of unusual creatures while challenging stereotypes about color in the animal kingdom, but entertaining the heck out of them as well. It’s really only a bonus that they (and you!) will probably learn something.
This is NOT a Valentine by Carter Higgins, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins (2017)
“This is not a valentine, since those come with buckets of roses and bushels of tulips that smell like grannies fresh out of the garden. All I’ve got are these [dandelions] and I already blew the wishes off most of them, for a rocket ship or the last cinnamon bun or moon boots or a mega-blaster…”
“This is not a valentine, since the cooties tumble out when you open one of those. But if you get the cooties and I get the cooties, then we can have cherry juice and chicken soup with rice together…”
“This is not a valentine, since I don’t only like you today. I like you tomorrow and next Tuesday and last week, too. I like you all the days the school bell rings just one more time.”
This is not a normal review in which I summarize the plot and tell you what I like. (There isn’t much of a plot and what I like is Higgins’ funny, tender reinvention of the typical ways we say “I love you,” and Cummins’ colorful, lively illustrations that show the deep friendship, acceptance, and affection between these two sweet kids). I will say I absolutely adore this darling book and think you will too.
I also have a Bookshop.org list, Books for Valentine’s Day, if you’d prefer to visually browse and/or support this newsletter in another way — I get a tiny commission if you use this link to make a purchase.
May the cooties tumble out of every Valentine you send and open 😉💌🩷
Much love,
Sarah
Sarah! I keep meaning to tell you that I’ve picked up soooo many of your book recommendations for my 4 year old and I. Thank you so so much for your newsletter.
I am so excited to read all of these! I just put them on hold at the library and incidentally, almost every single one had a hold on them, which I like to think means there is another "Can We Read" reader (Can We Reader? :) in San Antonio!