Children's Book Suggestions | Valentine's Day

A mix of Valentine's Day picture books and gentle, age-appropriate romance stories for older kids & young teens who are experiencing first crushes.

Updated January 25, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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Bad Kitty does not like Valentine's Day
Bruel, Nick
Paper Book
New York Times-bestselling author/illustrator Nick Bruel's naughty feline is back in the holiday adventure Bad Kitty Does Not Like Valentine's Day.Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, YOU SMELL BAD.Kitty does not like Valentine's Day.Because no one has given Kitty a Valentine.But maybe...

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

The Valentine bears
Bunting, Eve
Paper Book
Mr. and Mrs. Bear have never celebrated St. Valentine's Day because they hibernate during the winter.

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Love, Violet
Wild, Charlotte Sullivan
Paper Book
Perfect for Valentine's Day, Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild and Charlene Chua is a touching picture book about friendship and the courage it takes to share your feelings.Only one personmakes Violet's heart skip Of all the kids in Violet's class, only one leaves her speechless: Mira, the...

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

The secret valentine
London, Jonathan
Paper Book
Join Duck, Hippo, and their friends as they uncover their secret valentines! It's Valentine's Day, and something curious is going on. As the birds tweet their love songs, Hippo and his friends Elephant, Pig, and Turtle each receive mysterious, unsigned Valentine's Day cards. Hippo...

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

The secret life of squirrels : a love story
Rose, Nancy
Paper Book
Love is in the air with another irresistible photographic story of wild squirrels in homemade miniature settings, delighting readers and animal lovers of all ages. A companion to The Secret Life of Squirrels and Merry Christmas, Squirrels! sure to surprise and...

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Valensteins : (a love story)
Long, Ethan
Paper Book
Something strange is in the air on this dark, cold night. The members of Fright Club are always ready to scare, but tonight Fran K. Stein has something else on his mind. He's busy making something, and the other monsters want to know what it is. Could it be a mask with...

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Here comes Valentine Cat
Underwood, Deborah
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling Cat is back just in time for Valentine's Day!Full of humor and heart, this picture book is perfect for fans of Bad Kitty, Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie books, and of course, Cat's other capers, including Here Comes the Easter Cat,...

Holiday Picture Book (Age 4-8)

How do dinosaurs say I love you?
Yolen, Jane.
Paper Book
With more than 7 million copies sold, everybody's favorite bestselling dinosaurs are back to say: "I love you," in a VERY big way!Parents and children can never have enough ways to say "I love you"--and now, America's favorite dinosaurs are giving families a funny book, perfect for bedtime,...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Be my valentine
Wells, Rosemary.
Paper Book
Love is in the air! Mrs. Jenkins asks her class to celebrate Valentine's Day the nice way &mdash by making special valentines for everyone. There's plenty of red-hot zingers, Mount Fuji drops, peppermint hearts, and glitter to go around, making this the best Valentine's Day ever.

Holiday Easy Reader (Grades K-2)

Mouse and Mole, secret valentine
Yee, Wong Herbert.
Paper Book
Mole took a piece of pink paper and folded it in half. He drew a curvy line in pencil. "That looks like my tail," giggled Mouse. "Don't be silly!" chuckled Mole. He cut along the line with scissors. Snip, snip,...

Holiday Easy Reader (Grades K-2)

Nancy Clancy, secret admirer
O'Connor, Jane
Paper Book
Nancy and Bree decide to play matchmaker, but nothing works out as planned. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Chapter Books is an imprint of Spotlight, a division of ABDO.

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

Junie B. Jones and the mushy gushy valentime [i.e. valentine]
Park, Barbara.
Paper Book
"Hilarious. Barbara Park makes reading fun."--Dav Pilkey, author of Dog Man   Celebrate Valentine's Day with the world's funniest kindergartener--Junie B. Jones! The #1 New York Times bestselling chapter book series has been keeping kids laughing--and reading...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

Secret admirer
Roy, Ron
Paper Book
It's Valentine's Day in Green Lawn! But Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose just aren't feeling the love this year. Valentine's Day was so much more fun when they were little. Then they each start getting messages and clues from a secret admirer! Can the kids figure out who wants to be...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

Geronimo's valentine
Stilton, Geronimo.
Paper Book
Enter the world of Geronimo Stilton, where another funny adventure is always right around the corner. Each book is a fast-paced adventure with lively art and a unique format kids 7-10 will love.Okay, I'll admit it: I'm a bit of a cheesy mouse from time to time. What can I say? I'm a romantic!...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

Babymouse : heartbreaker
Holm, Jennifer L.
Paper Book
Celebrate Valentine's Day with Babymouse! NEW YORK TIMES bestselling and Newbery Honor winning author Jennifer Holm teams up with Matthew Holm to bring you a fully illustrated graphic novel series packed with humor and kid appeal--BABYMOUSE!   With...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Logan likes Mary Anne!
Galligan, Gale
Paper Book
Another Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adapted by New York Times bestselling author Gale Galligan!It's the first day of a new school year, and while Mary Anne doesn't know what to expect from the eighth grade, she's looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. One thing she...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Danny Constantino's first (and maybe last?) date
Acampora, Paul
Paper Book
Between going out with his celebrity crush and his mom's campaign to be the next town mayor, Danny's got a lot to learn about life in the spotlight. When Danny Constantino asks his old-friend-turned-Hollywood-movie-star, Natalie Flores Griffin, to his local school dance and...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Rick
Gino, Alex
Paper Book
From the award-winning author of Melissa, the story of a boy named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend. Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The language of seabirds
Taylor, Will (Children's literature author)
Paper Book
A sweet, tender middle-grade story of two boys finding first love with each other over a seaside summer. Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Spin with me
Polonsky, Ami
Paper Book
In this elegant dual narrative, Essie is a thirteen-year-old girl feeling glum about starting a new school after her professor dad takes a temporary teaching position in a different town. She has 110 days here and can't wait for them to end. Then she meets Ollie: delicate, blue eyes, short hair,...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Well, that was awkward
Vail, Rachel
Paper Book
Gracie has never felt like this before. One day, she suddenly can't breathe, can't walk,can't anything-and the reason is standing right there in front of her, all tall and weirdly good-looking- A.J. But it turns out A.J. likes not Gracie but Gracie's beautiful best friend, Sienna...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The love report. 1
Béka
Paper Book
BFFs Grace and Lola try to unravel the mystery of romance with a plan to observe, study, and analyze the ways of love at their middle school in the first book in this addictive graphic novel series. BFFs Grace and Lola talk about everything related to romance-and have lots of...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

Crush
Chmakova, Svetlana
Paper Book
Jorge seems to have it all together. He's big enough that nobody really messes with him, but he's also a genuinely sweet guy with a solid, reliable group of friends. The only time he ever really feels off his game is when he crosses paths with a certain girl... But when the group dynamic among the...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

Apple crush
Knisley, Lucy
Paper Book
After finally adjusting to life on a family farm with two brand new step-sisters, a young girl faces an even bigger challenge - figuring out where she fits in at her first year in middle school. This middle grade graphic novel explores family, friendship, and change! Jen is just...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

Drama
Telgemeier, Raina.
Paper Book
From Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning author of Smile and Sisters! Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon over Mississippi, she can't...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)


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