Spotlight on This Is Not a Valentine

My kid was born on February 14. Since that day, Valentine’s Day hasn’t been a big focus in our house. We have other things to celebrate. That might be the reason why I wasn’t familiar with Valentine’s Day–themed picture books. When I went to the library to check out the options, I was disappointed. Maybe it’s because the origin story of St. Valentine doesn’t translate well for youngsters or because the picture books I found seemed to all focus on gift giving, but I couldn’t find a lot of great Valentine’s Day books.

One fantastic exception was the charming and playful This Is Not a Valentine by Carter Higgins and Lucy Ruth Cummins (2017). A kid expresses that the gifts he gets his friend are not valentines because those wouldn’t be enough to show how important she is to him. I especially liked the drawings angled from overhead.

With each gift given to his friend, he explains why it isn’t a valentine — it’s not a bucket of roses, full of glitter or cooties, or prone to give you cavities. Instead the gifts given show that he really knows and cares about his friend: a lucky rock, a superhero cape, and the jelly side of a peanut butter sandwich. I was ticked by the reference to Maurice Sendak (“chicken soup with rice”) as his suggested treatment for cooties. The book is a celebration of friendship and meaningful gifts. Those are two things I can definitely get behind for Valentine’s or any day.