My Funny Valentine... Splat the Cat: Funny Valentine by Rob Scotton

"REMEMBER FOR TOMORROW, CLASS," SAID MRS. WIMPYDIMPLE.

"DON'T FORGET TO BRING IN SOMETHING FOR A SPECIAL VALENTINE."

You might think that Splat's tail would be twitching anxiously, as usual, worrying that his sometime-rival Spike is going to sweep the lovely Kitten off her feet with his special Valentine.

But not this time.

In this lift-the-flap Splat holiday adventure, Splat the Cat: Funny Valentine (Harper Festival, 2012), Splat wants to surprise someone else who is special--to all of them--Mrs. Wimpydimple.

In a fold-down flap, Splat reveals his carefully-formatted plan for a surprise party for their teacher. Kitten is to make the cookies, Splat will provide the poem for the Valentine card, and Spike is responsible for the arts and crafts supplies.

"MEET AT THE CLUBHOUSE!" SPLAT SAYS.

At their rendezvous, the door opens to the secret knock to reveal Spike with stacks of supplies ready for the project, and everyone gets to work. Kitten is even sewing a mouse-sized costume for Splat's sidekick, Seymour the Mouse, who is also making something special from a ball of pink ribbon.

Finally the project is finished and sits on its decorative stand, draped in a mysterious black cloth. The conspirators are pleased and excited.

"THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST VALENTINE'S DAY EVER!" SAYS SPLAT.

What is under the flap with the black drape concealing it? What is Mrs. Wimpydimple's special Valentine surprise? Young readers will be eager to find out what those purr-fect cat conspirators have prepared for the class party, in this happy Valentine tale from Splat's creator Rob Scotten and his cohorts, writer Annie Auerbach and the artists at Splat the Cat Studio. This holiday treat makes a sure-fire classroom read and lead-in to Valentine crafts. Sturdy and extremely well-designed, using a variety of perspectives in their flap formats to maximize suspense, this one also makes a nice Valentine gift for young readers and their teachers. For a Valentine's twosome, pair this one with Scotton's other heart-y treat, Love, Splat (Splat the Cat). (See review here.)

Try to See It My Way! Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day Is Cool by Kimberly and James Dean

Who doesn't like Valentine's Day?

Pete the Cat.

"VALENTINE'S DAY IS NOT COOL." PETE SAID.

But Pete can't resist the sincerity in Callie Cat's big blue eyes when she proclaims

"OH, PETE! VALENTINE'S DAY IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!"

Irresistible! Pete is a convert to Valentine's Day and all it entails, especially making personalized, homemade cards for each of their friends. Once on it, Pete's usual enthusiasm takes over as he designs sports-themed cards for all his buddies, each one with the friend's favorite sports equipment featured! Pete worries that, because of his late start, he'll never get all of them done, but Mom just tells him to do his best and stay with it, and working with Callie, Pete finally has a stack for everyone in his class--or so he thinks.

But when Pete arrives at Callie's house for her big party, he has a thought that freezes him motionless at Callie's door. He's forgotten to make one for his holiday hostess! Is Pete about to be the least-cool cat at Callie's Valentine's Day party?

Kimberly and James Dean's Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day Is Cool (Harper, 2013) catches the usually upbeat Pete in a rare (and brief) moment of negativity as it helps Pete fans celebrate Callie's favorite day. For kids for whom that mushy stuff is not so cool, this Pete title pushes the point that it's a day to appreciate all friends for their unique personalities. As an extra sweetener, this Pete book contains a tear-out set of Pete-themed Valentine's Day cards on sturdy stock, a poster, and a sheet of stickers to use with the Valentines.

'S No Valentine: Snowy Valentine by David Petersen

On a snowy Valentine's Day, Jasper Bunny still could not think of a gift good enough for Lilly. Jasper loved his wife very much, so he couldn't give her just any old gift.

Ah, a common dilemma. The greater the devotion, the harder the choice.

Jasper decides to seek the wisdom of the group and sets forth down the steep hillside in the snow to see what kind of Valentine gifts his neighbors are giving their near and dear.

The Porcupines are settled around a cozy fire, with all seven porcupine pups knitting away on a scarf for their mama. They are all too happy to teach Jasper their art, but Jasper is all thumbs, and after extricating himself from the tangled yarn, concludes that knitting is not for him.

Marion the Frog's window glows with yellow light and she eagerly shows off her special gift for her beloved--a heart-shaped box stuffed with hand-dipped chocolate-covered flies.

"Definitely not something my Lilly would enjoy!" Jasper muses.

Jasper plods on through the snow and meets up with Everett Raccoon's colorful gypsy caravan, his bouquets in full display, hoping for a last-minute Valentine's Day sale. But, alas, the flowers have wilted in the chill, and frost-bitten posies don't exactly make the statement he's after. Jasper trudges on through the snow until he comes to the cottage of Teagan the Fox, his mullioned windows glowing with firelight inside. Teagan welcomes him warmly and quickly ushers him inside. But then, things take an unfortunate turn:

"I do understand," says Teagan with an ingratiating smile. "I myself have been hunting all day for a Valentine's gift to impress my vixen, Faith--

And I think rabbit stew would be just the ticket!"

Egad! Things have come to a pretty pass, Jasper muses, as he finds himself literally in the soup! Either Faith Fox or Lilly Rabbit is going to be seriously disappointed on this Valentine's Day!

But love will find a way, and there will be a Valentine surprise in store for Lilly and for readers in David Petersen's Snowy Valentine (Harper, 2011)--a huge heart-shaped Valentine in the snow, created by Jasper's faithful tracks, and Lilly's happiness will be complete.

David Petersen, whose graphic style is familiar from his popular Mouse Guard series, is at his best in his first color picture book. Although his plotline breaks no new trails through the well-trodden February story snowscape, his illustrations, black-line drawings, bright with delicate and luminous watercolor, have great charm, evoking hobbit-y homes or the seven dwarves' cozy cottage: Miriam Frog's little random-stone house features rounded glowing windows, their mullioned panes forming spiderweb shapes, and Petersen's interiors recall the snug dwellings of Frog and Toad, Winnie the Pooh, and other classic characters. Publishers Weekly also puts Petersen in very good artistic company, writing "Petersen’s storytelling and artwork offer hints of Beatrix Potter and Kenneth Grahame. It’s a world that readers will be happy to lose themselves in."

Great Expectations! Pinkalicious: Pink of Hearts by Victoria Kann

At the party I had fun eating heart-shaped cookies, but I couldn't stop thinking about the secret valentine exchange. I knew that somewhere in the art room was a one-of-a-kind valentine with my name on it.

Pinkalicious gets lucky. In the drawing for Valentine partners, she draws her best friend Alison. The Princess of Pink is feeling "in the pink" as she and little brother Peter design a special Valentine for Allison--a BIG pink heart, with lace and beautiful designs surrounding a smaller lace-encased pink heart. Pinkie prints her message, "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, ALISON!" She adds plenty of glitter and even a spritz of pink perfume to her proud creation:

"PINKTURESQUE~" said Mommy.

"VALENTINALICIOUS!" said Daddy.

"Yuck!" said Peter, surveying the mess. "It looks like a PINK-STY in here!"

Allison is truly pleased with her elaborate Valentine. But then she hands Pinkalicious a plain-Jane envelope with a simple pink crayoned heart on a ripped-out piece of notebook paper inside.

It is not exactly what Pinkie expected. It looks like Allison spent about half a minute on this Valentine for her. Does this minimalist Valentine mean Allison isn't her best friend anymore?

But as Pinkalicious carelessly drops the stripped-down Valentine on the floor, she notices something more inside.

It was a poem that Allison had written for me.

In Victoria Kann's frothy Valentine's Day easy reading story, Pinkalicious: Pink of Hearts (HarperFestival, 2011), Pinkie gets the message: people are creative in different ways, and Allison has used her unique talent to prepare a special Valentine just for her that shows that she is a good friend indeed. With a bonus of eight sturdy tear-out Valentines and a slew of stickers with which to personalize them on board, this pinkanista paperback is a complete Valentine's bundle inside its covers, but one with a nice message about the different ways of being a friend.

Pair this one with Kann's recent Pinkalicious: The Princess of Pink Slumber Party (I Can Read Book 1) for a perfectly pink holiday party, or, even better, to probe the meaning of primary-grade friendship a little deeper, pair it with Diane deGroat's insightful holiday favorite, Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink.

X0X0X0! Big Hugs and Little Hugs by Felicia Bond

HAMSTERS HUG.

HIPPOS HUG.

EVERYONE HUGS ALL OVER THE WORLD!

Doting parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts--hardly anyone needs an excuse for giving a cute little one a hug, but just in case they need an occasion to honor the opportunity Valentine's Day offers, notable picture book artist Felicia Bond (illustrator of all of Laura Numeroff's best-selling If You Give A series), has a brand-new title, Big Hugs Little Hugs (Philomel, 2012).

Cheery rhyming text and Bond's familiar art style will please fans of Numeroff's popular books, and no one will be able to resist giving or returning their own Big Hugs Little Hugs after enjoying the process with penguins and pandas, lions and dinos, and other critters. Ants and turtles may not actually hug, but most of us mammals do, in our own way, and we humans enjoy it all our lives, and, as Bond says, all over the world.

Secret Admirer: A Giant Crush by Gennifer Choldenko

My best friend, Jackson, has been making Valentines all day long.

"Who's the special Valentine for, Jackson?"

"It's not special, Cooper, really," he says.

"How come is it so full of chocolate kisses that you can barely close it?"

Jackson is obviously smitten with the cute and charming Cami, although he is too shy to reveal his feelings to his best friend, much less to the object of his affections.

Cooper watches as his friend leaves a giant yellow flower, chocolate kisses, and a giant, handmade Valentine on Cami's desk anonymously. Cami doesn't seem to get the message, but class pest, Carter Corey, and Cami's girlfriends pick up on the vibes and what poor Jackson has feared comes to pass with predictable results:

"Cami and Jackson sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" all the girls sing.

Carter Corey is all too quick to jump on the teasing train. The very tall and somewhat shy Jackson is mortified when the taunting comes down, especially after he chooses to pass the soccer ball right to Cami at recess.

Cooper gives good advice to his buddy, telling them that if he wants a girl to like him, he at least needs to let her know about it. But the extra-tall Jackson has a real fear: what if Cami thinks he's a giant!

But faint heart never won fair lady, and on Valentine's Day Cami turns out to have a heart as big as Jackson's Valentine and the feminine moxy to handle the whole situation with definite diplomacy:

"I don't have a boyfriend," Cami tells him.

"But if I did have a boyfriend, he'd be totally giant!"

In the early elementary years, the coming of Valentine's Day provides the opportunity for the ever-popular subject of LOVE to rear its head. Newbery Award-winning author Gennifer Chuldenko combines forces with the equally-award-winning illustrator Melissa Sweet in their latest, A Giant Crush, (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011) a Valentine's Day tale which is both empathetic and humorous.

Heart-y Reading: A String of Hearts by Laura Malone Elliott

TOMORROW WAS THE CLASS VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY.

"MAKE A VALENTINE FOR EVERYONE," SAID SAM'S TEACHER, MRS. WRIGHT.

"WRITE SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT EACH CLASSMATE."

For young bear cub Sam, this is a daunting assignment. What do you say to Nicole about a skunk's "special" quality, especially after she'd said his new light-up sneakers were dumb? The one classmate he really wants to honor, however, is Tiffany, the most popular girl in the class. Tiffany is always surrounded by friends and admirers, and Sam is too shy to have ever spoken a word to her, but now he hopes a special Valentine will be the way to get her attention. But arts and crafts are not Sam's long suit.

"WHAT'S WRONG?" SAID MARY ANN.

"I NEED TO MAKE A REALLY GOOD VALENTINE." SAID SAM.

"REALLY?" MARY ANN SMILED. "WHO FOR?"

"TIFFANY."

MARY ANN'S FACE FELL.

Sam's old friend, Mary Ann, obviously had hoped the special Valentine might be for her, but she swallows her pride and offers to help him make their Valentines at her house anyway. Sam readily agrees and manages to come up with something personal about all of his classmates except Tiffany. All he really knows about her is that, since she dresses in purple every day, it must be her favorite color. With Mary Ann's artistic advice, he decorates her Valentine with lots of tiny purple hearts.

"IT'S THE NICEST VALENTINE I'VE EVER SEEN," MARY ANN SAID QUIETLY.

But on the day of the party Sam is devastated. His special Valentine is ignored by superstar Tiffany among the many fancy ones her admiring fans have made for her. Meanwhile, Sam finds in his coat pocket a beautiful string of hearts from Mary Ann, each with something special about him that she admires.

Suddenly, Sam realizes that while he knows nothing special about Tiffany, he can think of lots of good things about his real best friend.

"I COULD THINK OF HUNDREDS OF THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT MARY ANN." SAM REALIZES.

Laura Malone Elliott's brand-new A String of Hearts (Katherine Tegen Books, 2010) has much to say about what it takes to be a true friend. Noted artist Lynn Munsinger's cheery illustrations skillfully portray the emotions of the young students--skunks, raccoons, bears, and cute kitty Tiffany--in their facial expressions, but she gives squirrel Mary Ann the best supporting actress role in this pleasing and meaningful story of true friendship realized.

This short and sweet Valentine's Day story pairs especially well with Diane DeGroat's equally apropos Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink and, of course, Marc Brown's now "classic" Arthur's Valentine (An Arthur Adventure).

Heart-y Reading: Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine by Herman Parish

Amelia Bedelia's mom played cards with friends.

"WOW!" Look at all of the HEARTS!" said Amelia Bedelia, looking at her mother's hand.

"Amelia Bedelia! Don't tell them what I'm holding!" her mom cried.

Amelia's mom gives her a brand-new pack of cards and send her off to the kitchen, but little Amelia Bedelia still can't help seeing hearts everywhere--in the shapes of trees in the park and the blob of catsup on her French fries. It's almost Valentine's Day, and she can't wait to exchange cards with her friends. Still, she's a bit confused when her dad tries to explain Cupid's job in the art of love. "Don't tease me, Daddy! Babies don't have wings," she protests.

Finally the big day comes. Amelia Bedelia arrives at school to find a pink Valentine cake and a fancy bowl of some delicious pink-colored drink for the students.

"Can I have a little punch, please?" asked Clay.

Amelia Bedelia gave him a little punch on his arm.

Then it's time to exchange their Valentines, and to her dismay Amelia Bedelia discovers that she's left her carefully addressed cards on the school bus. But resourceful as always, Amelia rummages in her book bag and finds the deck of cards her mom gave her! HEARTS? She's got some, and snatching up a marker, she soon transforms the whole suit of hearts into handmade Valentines for her classmates.

"It's okay," announces Amelia Bedelia. "I've got CARDS for everyone!"

Herman Parish, nephew of the lamentably late Peggy Parish, continues the first-grade adventures of little Amelia Bedelia in his latest, Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine. (Greenwillow, 2009), ably assisted by the light-hearted illustrations of Lynne Avril. For more Valentine's Day stories, pair this one with Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart
or Diane deGroat's Gilbert and Friends story, Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink.

Heart-y Reading: Jon Scieszka's Trucktown: Melvin's Valentine by Jon Scieszka

Melvin got a Valentine!

But he didn't know who it was from.

This made Melvin worry.

Of course, everything makes Melvin the cement mixer worry. Trucktown's favorite worrywart asks everyone he meets, Kat the earth-mover, Pete the payloader, Lucy and Pat the firetrucks, but everyone denies the deed.

Only little Rescue Rita, following Melvin about with an occasional "Beep Beep," has nothing to say about the surprise missive until Melvin's anxiety level reaches the point of popping his oil pan, when she finally takes ownership of the card.

"Hey, Melvin! I'm so glad you showed everyone my Valentine!" says Rita.

"Your Valentine?" said Melvin. "Oh."

"I'm glad, too!"

For those emergent readers for whom Fancy Nancy's fuchsia glitter Valentines are just a few frou-frous over the line, Jon Scieszka's recent Trucktown easy reader, Melvin's Valentine (Trucktown Ready-to-Roll) (Aladdin, 2010) is just what Cupid ordered.

Scieszka, with his powerful pit crew of prize-winning illustrators (David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon), is the gearhead-in-chief in his jolly Ready-to-Roll books for young emergent motorhead readers. See also his recent additions to this series, Snow Trucking! (Ready-to-Read. Level 1) and Kat's Mystery Gift (Trucktown Ready-to-Roll).

Heart-y Reading: My Penguin Osbert in Love by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Right in the middle of the welcome mat I saw a familiar face. It was my penguin Osbert. Santa gave me Osbert for Christmas last year, and Osbert had been living at the zoo.

Apparently he had brought along a few friends.

Joe had found penguin-keeping a bit of a challenge and thought he'd found Osbert a permanent home in Penguin Place at the zoo. But here he is again--obviously on a mission.

Osbert had an invitation tucked under his wing:

ONCE IN A CENTURY SOUTH POLE EXTRAVAGANZA!

PLEASE JOIN US ON FEBRUARY 14 FOR THE CENTENNIAL GATHERING TO WITNESS THE SOUTHERN LIGHTS!

BE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AS THE ANTARCTIC SKY EXPLODES IN A DAZZLING DISPLAY THAT ONLY MOTHER NATURE CAN PROVIDE.

Yours sincerely,
Aurora Australis.

The dutiful Joe is in a time crunch! His mother's annual family Midwinter Bash is scheduled for that very night, but he still feels responsible for Osbert. As he says loyally, "Osbert wanted me to help him get to the South Pole and Osbert was my friend."

Luckily for the flightless penguins, Santa has been very generous with Joe this year, and he has his own personal helicopter all ready for takeoff with Osbert and his tuxedo-togged friends. After a few mistaken landings and a penguin potty break, they arrive at the Antarctic arena just in time to join the assembly to view the Aurora. Osbert, however, has his eyes on more than the skies when he falls totally in love with their hostess, the beauteous Aurora Australis herself.

Will Joe ever round up his lovestruck penguin in time for liftoff back to the Bash back home? It's an ice shelf cliffhanger, but the ever-loyal Joe finds a way to do it all in Elizabeth Cody Kimmel's new Valentine's Day entry, My Penguin Osbert in Love, which follows her popular Christmas story My Penguin Osbert. As in the first book, illustrator H. B. Lewis' charming and soulful portrayal of Joe, Osbert, and the polar landscape are half the fun!

Heart-y Humor: Olive You! And Other Valentine Knock-Knock Jokes You'll A-Door by Katy Hall and Lisa Eisenberg

Knock-Knock!
Who's there?
Igloo.
Igloo who?
Igloo my fingers together when I make Valentines!

Those nabobs of knock-knockology, Katy Hall and Lisa Eisenberg, have another classic holiday joke book which is just right for riddle-me readers who dote on jokes on the punny side. In their evergreen Olive You!: And Other Valentine Knock-Knock Jokes You'll A-Door (Lift-the-Flap Knock-Knock Book) the two knocksters again have combined talents with illustrator-designer Stephen Carpenter to create a neat little paperback flap book just right for the elementary reader.

Following their successful formula, Hall and Eisenberg take the reader through a typical elementary school Valentine's Day. The kids put away their backpacks as they greet their classroom pets, hamsters Pammy and Hammy, who are just making their getaway beneath the first flap. Next come visits to the music room (lift the keyboard cover on the piano for a musical knock-knock) and to the library, where Valentine books are prominently displayed (I Love Candy Hearts by I. Kent Getenuff). A message from an author beneath a book cover flap tells the kids what they most want to know about the big day:

Roses are red,
Reading is great!
The party's at two--
Please come! Don't be late!

It's hard to wait for the party, but there are plenty of jokes to keep the kids smiling through the long, long day. In the Health Room they see a potential patient: Knock-knock! Who's there? Arthur. Arthur who? Arthurmometer says he's fine!

There's no escape from jokes in the gym either: Knock-knock. Who's there? Gym. Gym who? Gym me a little kiss! and

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Doris.
Doris who?
Doris stuck on your gym locker!

The romantic rodents, Pammy and Hammy, kiss and tell under imaginative flaps as we proceed through the cafeteria (Knock-knock. Who's there? Peas. Peas who? Peas be my Valentine!) and at last on to the kids' classroom, where decorations and an inviting cloth-covered table flap proclaim that the party starts here!

Knock-knock!
Who's there?
Juicy!
Juicy who?
Juicy all this great food?

Kids love knock-knock jokes--a good enough reason in itself to enjoy this book at Valentine's season. But knock-knock jokes are also a easy way to introduce beginning readers to the nuances of the English language through their use of layered meanings within the puns. In their several holiday books Hall and Eisenberg can be counted on to do a great job to teach the fun of joyful word play. For more heart-y humor, see also their companion book Hearty Har Har: Valentine Riddles You'll Love (Lift-the-Flap).

Secret Love: Super Secret Valentine by Abby Klein

"I have a problem, a really really big problem. I want to give Jessie a special Valentine for Valentine's Day, but I don't want anyone else to know.

Let me tell you about it."

Mrs. Wushy's class Valentine's Day party is Friday, and for a change Freddy has a bigger problem than class bully Max. Freddy's mom has decided that this year he and Suzie will make their own Valentines instead of buying them, and after some problems with crooked cut-out hearts, Freddy really gets into the project. There are nineteen to make for the kids in his class, and Freddy finishes eighteen of them under Suzie's bossy supervision, but the last one, the special one for Jessie, is a different matter.

Pretending to help his mom put his laundry away, Freddy sneaks the needed art supplies up to his room and finishes an especially nice one for his special friend. So far so good, Freddie thinks, until Suzie catches him glue-handed with the forbidden sticky stuff in his room. "You are so busted," she cries triumphantly, and only a promise to turn over all his candy hearts and all his chocolate kisses to Suzie buys her silence.

Still Freddy has to smuggle the special Valentine to school without anyone seeing it. Visions of hearing Max singing the dreaded rhyme in front of everyone torment Freddy as he stealthily waits for a private moment to give Jess her Valentine:

"Freddy and Jessie, sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

But this time Freddy is lucky in love. At recess he manages to catch Jessie alone to give her the handmade Valentine with the special message "I Like You!" And wonder of wonders, Jessie has one for him with the very same message.

In Abby Klein's beginning chapter book Super-secret Valentine (Ready, Freddy!), hero Ready Freddy has special appeal to youngsters of the boy persuasion--a realistic character whose wishes and worries tickle the funny bone while striking a common chord with young readers. Pair this one with Park's hilarious (and touching) Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime (Junie B. Jones, No. 14) for some independent reader Valentine's Day fun.

Heart-y Reading: Valentine Books to Warm Your Heart

If you're looking for a fast and funny February 14 story for beginning chapter book readers or for a read-aloud occasion, there's one rodent who reports for duty in Geronimo Stilton: Valentine's Day Disaster (Geronimo Stilton) It's February 14, and Geronimo is prepared to party on the big day, but he awakes late, finds nary a Valentine in his mailbox, and discovers his office empty, with not a single employee around to get out his newspaper, The Rodent Gazette. Somehow Geronimo intuits that his nemesis and publishing rival, Sally Ratmousen, is behind the nefarious business problems. Valentine's Day is a disaster!

Enter a charming lady mouse, Cheesy Lou Sweetsnout, girl cowmouse, a vision in cowboy boots and Stetson hat, who calls up an army of cow friends, including 100 cowmouse hands to deliver the news. Disasters continue to pile up: Geronimo's house is stinky with sewage seepage, the baker cancels his order for Valentine goodies, the band booked for the bash is stuck in an airport, and his klutzy Cousin Trap sits on and squashes the substitute snacks. No problem for Cheesy Lou. With her friends Cheesy Lee, Cheesy Lynn, and Toughrat McBeefy, she whips up a huge heart-shaped pizza, strikes up the banjo and fiddle for some Western boot-scootin', er, mouse-ic, and manages to make the mousely most of Valentine's Day after all. The book's backmatter includes a section, "How to Organize a Valentine's Day Party," which offers tips for crafting Valentines, choosing food, decorations, and party games, and illustrated directions for Western dancing, There's even a collection of riddles for "Geronimo's Joke Contest."

It's as light and fluffy as marshmallow whip and as goes down as easily as a chocolate heart. With the series' trademark kid-pleasing layout of varied colored fonts and comic illustrations of the various mouse characters, Geronimo Stilton: Valentine's Day Disaster (Geronimo Stilton) is a perky little party favor for the big day.

For deeper belly laughs, though, one of the best of the beginning chapter Valentine's Day confections is Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine (Junie B. Jones, Book 14). Now, Valentine's Day is serious business for elementary schoolers, and although she provides the usual laugh a minute, Barbara Park sees through the froth to the heartfelt threat to self confidence that this holiday holds for children.

At her class party, Junie B. is crestfallen when she gets fewer "Valentimes" than her friends "richie Lucille" and "that Grace." Then, her teacher discovers an undelivered card at the bottom of the box, addressed to Junie. In fact, it is a rather lavish, ruffly Valentine from an anonymous admirer. There are several boys in her class that she likes, Paulie Allen Puffer, for example--but this mushy, gushy momento seems more serious than silly. When Junie B. sneaks back into the classroom to do some sleuthing during recess, she meets up with the last boy she would ever suspect of being her secret cupid. Yet it's someone who knows her at her best and worst and still admires the fun and zest she brings to their classroom. Not only do the laughs come from the belly, but in this hearty tribute to the spirit of the holiday, they also come from the heart.