The Shape of My Heart by Mark Sperring

The Shape of My Heart by Mark Sperring, illustrated by Alys Paterson

Rating: 4 stars

Here's a sweet book about a parent's love for a child, explained through the senses and with many, many shapes.

I'll explain.

Sperring writes: "This is the shape of our eyes.  And these are the shapes that we might see."  Paterson illustrates all the little things that a parent and child might see together while playing or walking or being together.  A fun dinner plate, a green plant, a picture in the process of being painted, a balloon, a ball of yarn.  All little reminders of things done together--or maybe things that will be done together.

Sperring writes: "This is the shape of our mouths. Now, what would you like to eat?" Paterson illustrates all the little things that a parent and child might eat together--hot pasta with peas, what-a-treat lollipops, carrots fresh from the garden, sweet strawberries, a hunk of cheese.  All little examples of food--both staples and treats--that will be eaten together.

In between the pages with things the parent and child will see, hear, touch, and taste together are

elaborate illustrations comprised of simple shapes that give a child a great reason to pause and take in the illustration before quickly turning the page.

The last page is definitely the best.  The punchline.  The reason I bought the book.

Sperring writes: "And this is the shape I love you with.  This is the shape of my heart."  Paterson illustrates all those little things that the parent and child did together, this time tucked closely together, collage-style in the shape of a heart.

For me, this is a great reminder to us parents that all those little, very tangible things we do with a child point out how much we love them.  "Forever is just a string of a lot of right nows," said a character in a movie we watched last night.  And love is just a collection of little moments...little moments that hopefully we parents will choose to be in--I mean really BE in, in a join-the-fun sort of way--again and again and again.

Hope your Valentine's Day is filled with a few of these moments.

Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff (repost!)

Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond

Rating: 5 unique stars

Here's my first favorite Valentine's Day book.  It's a silly little board book, but I just love it and the message it provides for kids.  I can't find our copy, so this is based on my memory from reading it last year.  And the year before that.  And the year before that.

Mouse is preparing Valentine's Day cards for all of his friends.  But he doesn't make them as most kids do these days--just buy a box, pop in some high-fructose-corn-syrup-filled candy, and sign his name.  Nope.  "Mouse wants each one to be just right."  He stops to think of each of his friends, and what they like to do, and then he creates a unique card for each of them.

Lorelei's owls, Ben's bumblebee

For Moose, for example, he thinks of how much Moose likes art, and creates a masterpiece of art for him.  Because Pig is such a good dancer, Mouse creates a card with a music note bursting with joy.

For anyone familiar with all of Laura Numeroff's books (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, etc.), the images will be familiar--almost all of them are taken from different books, so it's like a gathering of sorts of all those fun illustrations by Felicia Bond showing the animals at their wackiest.

But I love the message: Be thoughtful; think of the other person as you create a card just for them.

We make our own Valentine's Day cards--not sure how long this will last, but I love it for now--and I was proud of Lorelei when she wanted to add glasses to two of her owl valentines.  "Red ones for Ritvik, purple ones for Jessica!"  I of course obliged; was so happy for her thoughtful additions.

Happy Valentine's Day, all.

Love, Splat by Rob Scotton

Love, Splat by Rob Scotton

Rating: 5 lovey stars

Well...I started this on Valentine's Day.  Might as well finish it, despite my tardiness...

We love these Splat books by Rob Scotton.  All of the books have cute, quirky illustrations; they tell a simple, solid message; they inspire some giggles by any boy or girl nearby me.  Can't beat that!

In Love, Splat our sweet but smelly, second-guessing, simply-minded feline hero finds the moxie to write a Valentine to the fluffy cute cat that he likes.  Enter Spike, the cat who is always foiling his plans.  Spike and Splat compete in their own cat ways to show each other (not really Kitten) who likes this special girl more.  With each contest Splat feels more and more sorry for himself--clearly, he thinks, Spike is the better choice. He's so downhearted that he just throws away his Valentine.

Spike doesn't.  He gives his to Kitten.  It is obnoxiously large and says: "You're SO lucky that I like YOU!"  (Are you rolling your eyes?  You should be!  But not in front of your kids, lest they pick up this bad habit.)

"I feel loved when I show off my muscles...  Or sometimes
I act like a living waffle.  I am a walking calculator."

Fluffy daintily plucks Splat's card from the trash, reads it, and loves it.  It says, simply: "I like you!"  She gives him a special Valentine that explains, with a little more flair, that the feeling is mutual.

Simple stuff.  Sweet stuff.  That's about as mushy as I want my kids to read right now!  Though Lorelei declared last week that she wants to marry my good friend's son Owen, my line--that I will be repeating until she is out of college--is "Have boys for friends first."

I've included here one of the many activities creative teachers have done after reading this book to their class.  This teacher had her kids add details to Splat and add words to the heart he is holding.  I smiled at this child's answer to the teacher's first words "I feel loved when..."  What a character this kid seems to be!  Love it.

Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff

 Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond

Rating: 5 unique stars

Here's my first favorite Valentine's Day book.  It's a silly little board book, but I just love it and the message it provides for kids.  I can't find our copy, so this is based on my memory from reading it last year.  And the year before that.  And the year before that.

Mouse is preparing Valentine's Day cards for all of his friends.  But he doesn't make them as most kids do these days--just buy a box, pop in some high-fructose-corn-syrup-filled candy, and sign his name.  Nope.  "Mouse wants each one to be just right."  He stops to think of each of his friends, and what they like to do, and then he creates a unique card for each of them.

Lorelei's owls, Ben's bumblebee

For Moose, for example, he thinks of how much Moose likes art, and creates a masterpiece of art for him.  Because Pig is such a good dancer, Mouse creates a card with a music note bursting with joy.

For anyone familiar with all of Laura Numeroff's books (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, etc.), the images will be familiar--almost all of them are taken from different books, so it's like a gathering of sorts of all those fun illustrations by Felicia Bond showing the animals at their wackiest.

But I love the message: Be thoughtful; think of the other person as you create a card just for them.  We make our own Valentine's Day cards--not sure how long this will last, but I love it for now--and I was proud of Lorelei when she wanted to add glasses to two of her owl valentines.  "Red ones for Ritvik, purple ones for Jessica!"  I of course obliged; was so happy for her thoughtful additions.

Happy Valentine's Day, all.

Love is You & Me by Monica Sheehan

Love is You & Me by Monica Sheehan

Rating: 5 love-y stars

Here's a sweet, simple book with a sweet, simple celebration of love.  For those of us teaching others what love is, for those of us who need reminders of what love is, for those of us learning and searching and thanking.  I love how this book could be given to a toddler or grandparent, a husband or best friend, a teacher or a mother.  The illustrations are cute and silly and happy.  Betcha can't read it without having a heart-string or two tugged...

Love is me...and love is you.
So when you smile, I smile too.When you're around, the skies are blue.
It's like being happy! times two.
Love is sweet...and love is GRAND!
Sometimes love...is just holding hands.
It's a feeling inside.
It's a smile in your heart.
It keeps us together when we're apart.
Love is fun!  It's feeling free!
Love lets you be who you want to be.
Love will catch you when you fall.
LOVE! It's the greatest gift of all.
It's just us two without a care.
It's what we give...and the times we share.
It wipes away the tears...sends our troubles along...
Love is the place...where you always belong.

And, by the way, Love is You & Me is only available in board book.  How fitting that a book on love is printed in this sturdy, strong, resilient form?