Counting: Ten Little Kisses by Taylor Garland

No, nobody has to kiss a pig (except this lovable pink-nosed porker,) but it's always fun to see baby critters play in the sun and curl up for a cozy bedtime kiss.

Three cozy lions frolic freely around their sleepy family. Four fluffy kitties take turns grooming each other, while five piglets get bliss just from an oink and a kiss.

Six little chimps love to be silly, while seven gentle elephants tie their trunks into a love knot to show they love each other a lot.

Eight graceful giraffes can kiss at great height. But nine bunnies kiss in their burrows at night.

Ten penguins prefer hugs at the zoo.

No matter how many cute critters you can see, there are always hugs--for you, baby, from me!

Taylor Garland counts the ways to say I Love You in 10 Little Kisses (Little, Brown and Company, 2018), an appealing board book for preschoolers which teaches animal names along with counting skills, illustrated by affectionate animal photos.

Heart-y Milestone The Very First Kiss by Guido Van Genechten

"SOMEONE MUST HAVE GIVEN THE FIRST KISS," FLAMINGO SAYS.

Giraffe, Little Polar Bear, Little Elephant, and Camel can't quite wrap their young brains around such a big idea.

"Given?" "What?" "To Whom?" "When?" they wonder.

Zebra is totally confused. Little Lion is not sure what a "kiss" is.

Flamingo (an animal not particularly well-equipped for kissing) seems to be the know-it-all of the group.

"SOMETHING SPECIAL!" he says.

Flamingo launches into metaphorical explanations of why a kiss is so special. He claims it feels something like flying. That's not really a relevant simile for the others, so the little zebras warm up by bumping each other. The giraffes twine their long necks together. Baby elephants pass globs of nice cooling mud between their trunks. Camels rub their foreheads together, and Little Polar Bear shows how rubbing noses gives him warm fuzzy giggles. Is that it?

"NOT!" insists Flamingo.

Then who could have given the first kiss? It's all a matter of perspective, but Little Monkey demonstrates why he thinks he knows who gave the first smooch, in Guido Van Genechten's brand-new The Very First Kiss (Clavis, 2014).  For preschoolers (who may or may not enjoy big smooches,) this latest by Van Genecten takes a light-hearted look at kissing, with some big, bright illustrations of popular storybook animals showing how it's done in this fun fare for Valentine reading.