Hearty Handicrafts! Curious George Makes a Valentine adapted by Bethany V. Freites

Curious George loves mornings.

Mornings that smell like waffles are the best!

The man with the yellow hat has some special, heart-shaped waffles waiting for George's breakfast. It's Valentine's Day, he explains to George, the day when we send cards to our friends to show how we care about them. George thinks heart-y waffles are a good way to care.

And the man has something else for George--a card with a big, red heart right in the middle, with his name on it. How nice it is!

George is curious. Can he make a Valentine's card with a red heart for the man? Yes, he can. He traces the heart and makes the man a special card. This is fun! Now George has an idea. Can he make cards for his other friends? But first he has to figure out the heart shape. George experiments with his foam blocks and discovers that the familiar heart shape can be made with two triangles and two half-circles. How COOL is that?

But how can he make enough cards for his friends today? George is curious.

He has an idea. With his red paints and his foam heart stamp, he can print out more red hearts. But George is a little monkey, and monkeys are impatient. Can he find a way to print many heart cards fast? He is going to have to come up with some sort of stamping machine.

Gluing the stamper to the bottom of his pogo stick mostly splashes paint. George cleans up and tries out his trike wheel and gets--a paper jam. Then he remembers how the waffle iron works. Can he adapt it to make a Valentine stamper?

It's mass production for our curious little monkey, in Curious George Makes a Valentine (CGTV reader) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018), adapted from the award-winning PBS program and from H.A. Rey's original character. This Level 2 Green Light reader is a holiday story that is a veritabl art and STEM lesson as well as independent reading practice, as George learns about shapes and invents the printing press to boot--all to please his friends on Valentine's Day. And in case parents are leery of real red paint, the publisher offers an alternative--Valentine stickers which youngsters can use to embellish their own Valentines. What's not to like in this clever and inexpensive Curious George story?

Heart-y Tale: The Very Fairy Princess Follows Her Heart by Julie Andrews

"Hi! It's me, Gerry, the very fairy princess.

Not everyone believes that I’m a fairy princess, but the sparkle I feel inside tells me that it’s true!

One of my favorite days is coming up–-Valentine’s Day!”

And Gerry is ready for the challenge. She gets out her trusty art supplies–-card stock, stickers, and, of course, glitter--and starts turning out handmade Valentine’s cards for her family and especially for everyone in her class at school–even, with some reluctance, one for Connor, who teases and pulls her hair. Gerry carefully crafts each one to show just what is special to her about each person. Mom and Dad are proud of her output, and Mom even fetches one of Daddy’s work folders from his home office for Gerry to keep her Valentines together for the big day.

Valentine’s Day begins with Dad’s special heart-shaped pancakes (with extra fairy dust,) and Gerry’s presentation of her Valentines to her family. Then she dashes upstairs to get gussied up in tiara, heart-shaped accessories, and her wings. Time is running out, so Gerry runs out of the house, grabbing her folder of Valentines on the way and running for the bus.

Miss Pym has transformed the classroom into a pink and red fantasy and passes out heart-shaped bags with everyone’s name for the students to collect their Valentines. At last it’s time to exchange their cards, and Gerry opens her folder. She can barely contain her sparkle.

But–-what’s this?

"These aren’t my Valentines! These are Dad’s work papers.

This day is going to be the most un-sparkly day in Valentine’s history!"

Gerry holds back her tears. She’s worked for weeks making those personalized Valentines! But, after all, a fairy princess must maintain her composure at all times. And a VERY fairy princess comes through in a pinch. With Miss Pym’s cheerful permission, Gerry asks her classmates to make a circle and verbally delivers to each one her Valentine’s message. Connor is especially pleased with his:

”You sparkle when you... RESCUE BUGS!”

Julie Andrews and co-author daughter Emma Hamilton’s timely latest, The Very Fairy Princess Follows Her Heart (Little, Brown, 2013) comes through with all the sparkle of their previous best-selling books in this series, with the help of illustrator Christine Davenier’s light-as-a-fairy’s -wing pink-hued fantasies.  Gerry’s sparkle comes from inside, and she again shows that a real princess can rise to the occasion and disport herself with grace and plenty of heart.

Pair this one with Herman Parish’s similarly themed Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine (see my review here) for a  duo of hearty and heartfelt (as well as inspired and improvised) Valentine’s Day gifts.

Copying Cupid! Nancy Clancy: Secret Admirer by Jane O'Connor

ALL AT ONCE, NANCY SAT UP. SHE COULD FEEL AN IDEA TAKING ROOT IN HER MIND. ANDY DIDN'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND. ANNIE DIDN'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND. "BREE!" SHE SAID EXCITEDLY.

ANDY AND ANNIE. THEIR NAMES WENT TOGETHER LIKE TWO PUZZLE PIECES.

ANNIE AND ANDY. IT SOUNDED LIE THE TITLE OF A SONG!

OOH LA LA! NANCY'S IDEA KEPT GROWING. SHE COULD ALMOST FEEL IT BLOOMING INTO A FLOWER. NOT JUST ANY FLOWER, BUT A BEAUTIFUL RED ROSE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

Business is slow down at Nancy's Sleuth Headquarters. February seem to be a slow month for detective work. And her teacher, Mr. Dudeny, has given all his "Dudes" uninspiringly plain pre-cut "appreciation hearts" to fill out for each of their classmates, so Nancy has no reason to break out the pink paper, doilies, and glitter, and she's craving some Valentine excitement. When she discovers that her cute guitar teacher Andy has broken up with his girlfriend and her "best babysitter in the universe" Annie is similarly single pro tem, Nancy sees the perfect matchmaking opportunity within her grasp.

Best buddy Bree is soon on board, and the two would-be romance brokers write a sweet note from a secret admirer for Annie, even adding a few of  Bree's mom's birthday roses (only slightly droopy, with most of their petals).  Nancy gets to use the Clancy clandestine skills as they stealthily bike over to Annie's house and leave the love tokens on her porch.

And when Bree and Nancy learn that Andy has a gig playing at a Valentine's Day birthday party at their favorite ice cream parlor where their little brother and sister Freddie and JoJo are guests, the two Cupids get their chance to stage the perfect "cute meet." All they have to do is leave another note inviting Annie to rendezvous with her admirer at the cafe after Andy's gig, and true love will take its course.

Nancy and Bree beg to go along with their siblings, feigning  a burning desire to shop at Belle's Boutique next door, but the two steal out of Belle's and into the alley  to peak through the cafe window to see if Cupid's arrow is finding its mark.

Things look good.

AT A TABLE IN THE BACK, THERE THEY WERE--ANNIE AND ANDY. ANDY AND ANNIE. THEY WERE EACH HOLDING A SPOON. IN BETWEEN THEM WAS A BANANA SPLIT. ANNIE WAS LAUGHING AT SOMETHING ANDY SAID.

IT WAS LIKE A MOVIE, ONLY BETTER--THIS WAS REAL LIFE!"

Nancy and Bree are about ready to swap their Detectives for Hire sign for a Matchmakers Par Excellence shingle, until they find out that Andy and Annie have been best buddies since preschool. Nancy's mom points out that their affection is apparently platonic, not romantic!

NANCY AND BREE EXCHANGED SAD LOOKS. THAT WAS WHAT NANCY FIGURED PLATONIC MEANT.

IT WAS THE FIRST FANCY WORD SHE DIDN'T LIKE!

But knowing Nancy Clancy, we know she's still hoping that love will find a way, in her latest chapter book, Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Secret Admirer (Harper, 2013). After all, it's Valentine's Day and surely love is in the air! With Robin Preiss Glasser's charming black and white drawings sprinkled lavishly throughout the text, this beginning chapter book (like its predecessor Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth) is the perfect transition to the novel for Fancy Nancy fans.

As the typically tough, Kirkus Reviews  practically coos, "the logical series for fans of Fancy Nancy to fall in love with. Ooh la la!"