Books That Show Kids What Love Is All About: A List of kids books for Valentine’s Day and Beyond
The Children’s Book Review
As the lyrics of the Elephant Love Medley say: Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love! But what is love? How do we show love? How do we know when we’re looking at love? How do we teach our children about love? How do we learn to love others and to love ourselves? The truth is that love looks and feels different for everyone, and we all have our ways of showing it. Love can feel close but can also withstand long distances. Love can look like snuggling together and sharing a book. There can never be enough books about love, kids books for sharing on Valentine’s Day and beyond. The following list of books show kids what love is all about, what it can look like, and the remarkable ways we can show love to one another. These books are full of splendor and demonstrate how love is so powerful that it lifts us up where we belong!
Love Is Powerful
Written by Heather Dean Brewer
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Ages 5-8 | 32 Pages
Publisher : Candlewick | ISBN-13 : 978-1536201994
Publisher’s Synopsis: A little girl carries a big message—and finds it thrillingly amplified by the rallying crowd around her—in an empowering story for the youngest of activists.
Mari raised her sign for everyone to see.
Even though she was small and the crowd was very big,
and she didn’t think anyone would hear,
she yelled out.
Mari is getting ready to make a sign with crayon as the streets below her fill up with people. “What are we making, Mama?” she asks. “A message for the world,” Mama says. “How will the whole world hear?” Mari wonders. “They’ll hear,” says Mama, “because love is powerful.” Inspired by a girl who participated in the January 2017 Women’s March in New York City, Heather Dean Brewer’s simple and uplifting story, delightfully illustrated by LeUyen Pham,is a reminder of what young people can do to promote change and equality at a time when our country is divided by politics, race, gender, and religion.
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Who Loves the Dragon?
Written by Bianca Schulze
Illustrated by Samara Hardy
Ages 3-6 | 32 Pages
Publisher: Clever Publishing | ISBN-13: 978-1951100438
Publisher’s Synopsis: In this interactive follow-up to Don’t Wake the Dragon, our beloved Dragon is wide-awake and preparing to celebrate one of the kingdom’s most important events of the year: the annual Friendship Festival! It’s a time for everyone to gather and have fun, all honoring their meaningful friendships. But on the day of the feast, the cooks are called away to cater to the Queen and the knights must report for special duty in the Enchanted Forest. With everyone gone, Dragon is upset and worried that this year’s Friendship Festival is doomed. Could they be planning something special for her? And in the meantime, can you help cheer her up?With colorful and humorous illustrations throughout, this read-aloud picture book encourages kids to interact with the text on every page. Young readers will love waving to characters, blowing kisses, dancing, and more on this fun ride alongside Dragon and her adorable friends in this delightful story that will beg to be read again and again.
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I Dream of Popo
Written by Livia Blackburne
Illustrated by Julia Kuo
Ages 4-8 | 40 Pages
Publisher : Roaring Brook Press | ISBN-13 : 978-1250249319
Publisher’s Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Livia Blackburne and illustrator Julia Kuo, here is I Dream of Popo. This delicate, emotionally rich picture book celebrates a special connection that crosses time zones and oceans as Popo and her granddaughter hold each other in their hearts forever.
I dream with Popo as she rocks me in her arms.
I wave at Popo before I board my flight.
I talk to Popo from across the sea.
I tell Popo about my adventures.
When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan to America, she leaves behind her beloved popo, her grandmother. She misses her popo every day, but even if their visits are fleeting, their love is ever true and strong.
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Eyes That Kiss in the Corners
Written by Joanna Ho
Illustrated by Dung Ho
Ages 4-8 | 40 Pages
Publisher : HarperCollins | ISBN-13 : 978-0062915627
Publisher’s Synopsis: A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers’. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother’s, and her little sister’s. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.
Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment. This powerful, poetic picture book will resonate with readers of all ages.
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Outside, Inside
Written and Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Ages 3-7 | 48 Pages
Publisher : Roaring Brook Press | ISBN-13 : 978-1250798350
Publisher’s Synopsis: From Caldecott honoree LeUyen Pham, Outside, Inside is a moving picture book celebrating essential workers and the community coming together to face the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Something strange happened on an unremarkable day just before the season changed.
Everybody who was outside . . .
. . . went inside.
Outside, it was quieter, wilder, and different. Inside, we laughed, we cried, and we grew.
We remembered to protect the ones we love and love the ones who protect us.
While the world changed outside, we became stronger on the inside and believed that someday soon spring would come again.
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Love
Written by Corrinne Averiss
Illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman
Ages 4-7 | 32 Pages
Publisher : words & pictures | ISBN-13 : 978-0711255470
Publisher’s Synopsis: Funny, emotional, and uplifting picture book about separation and love, to help children understand their emotions.
Everyone loves everyone in Tess’s house, but when Tess has to leave for school for the very first time, she is worried that her family’s love might not stretch that far. Mom explains that love is like a string, it connects people together even when they are far away. At school Tess notices that all the children have strings! Some are new, some are old, some stretch a long way, and some even stretch right up into the sky. But what happens when a string breaks?
Love is the third in a trio of feel-good picture books from author Corrinne Averiss (Joy (2018), Hope (2019)) – a pure delight from start to finish. A wonderful story that subtly tackles difficult topics of death, grief, separation, and overcoming anxiety.
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Porcupine Cupid
Written by Jason June
Illustrated by Lori Richmond
Ages 4-8 | 40 Pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books | ISBN-13: 978-1481481014
Publisher’s Synopsis: A porcupine hatches a prickly plan to bring his animal friends together on Valentine’s Day in this humorous, heartwarming tale where everyone gets a happily ever after.
Love is in the air this Valentine’s Day—or it will be if Porcupine has any say. He uses his quills like Cupid’s arrows, hoping to bring the sweet and sentimental spirit of the holiday to all his forest friends. But with every poke! that Porcupine gives, he gets a hey!, ouch!, or yowser! in return.
It seems Porcupine’s mission isn’t turning out quite like he planned, but with some quick thinking he might just be able to save the day…and maybe find a valentine of his very own.
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How Big Is Love
Written and Illustrated by Emma Dodd
Ages 2-5 | 24 Pages
Publisher: Templar | ISBN-13 : 978-1536215441
Publisher’s Synopsis: “Before you came I did not know just how big love can be. Love’s wider than the ocean, it’s deeper than the sea.”
Does love have a size? A family of ducks celebrates the boundless affection between them in Emma Dodd’s gentle rhyming ode to unconditional love.
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The book list 8 Books That Show Kids What Love Is All About was curated by Bianca Schulze. Follow along with our articles and reviews tagged with Love and Valentine’s Day Books to discover more great titles just like these ones.
