Happy Valentine’s Day! When I was a little girl, my favorite part of Valentine’s Day was trading valentines at school. How I loved those little cards! Now that I’m well into middle age with my sweetheart of almost 30 years, I look forward to spending Heart Day with him—and eating chocolate. I’ve outgrown the tiny cards, but the chocolate is forever.
By the way, one of the titles I’m highlighting this week is Chocolate is Forever, which is a very deliberate choice on my part. For me, everything is a little bit better when chocolate is involved, so a cookbook devoted to my favorite sweet is a solid win.
The rest of the titles in this week’s reading list are picture books, another personal favorite of mine. See my brief annotations below to find out if you, or a little one, wants to read about a porcupine who wants to be Cupid, a cement mixer who receives a valentine, a heart-filled walk through nature, and how love comes in all shapes and sizes (starring a zoo-ful of animals).
- Chocolate is Forever: Classic Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, Pies, Puddings, Candies, Confections, and More by Maida Heatter. It’s all about chocolate—what more do I need to say?
- I Love You with All of My Hearts written by Lindsay Bonilla, illustrated by Eleonora Pace. Some animals have multiple hearts while others have multiple eyes (eek!), but their differences don’t stop them from finding love and friendship. A sweet story about love that includes an assortment of fun animal facts.
- Little Hearts: Finding Hearts in Nature written by Charles Ghigna, illustrated by Jacqueline East. Isn’t it fun to find shapes in clouds? Or rocks? Or plants? This charming picture book shares the joy experienced by four animal friends when hearts show up in nature.
- Melvin’s Valentine written by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by multiple illustrators. Melvin, a cement mixer, receives a valentine, but he doesn’t know who gave it to him. This worries Melvin. I don’t know about you, but an anxious cement mixer sounds like a story I want to read.
- Porcupine Cupid written by Jason June, illustrated by Lori Richmond. Porcupine croons, "Love is in the air!" but his efforts at playing Cupid go awry when his friends keep getting poked by his arrows (aka quills). It’s a sticky situation, but don’t worry, love conquers all.
New at the Library
Fiction
- Into the West by Mercedes Lackey.
- The Patient’s Secret by Loreth Anne White.
- Winter Swallows: Ring Down the Curtain for Commassario Ricciardi by Maurizio De Giovanni.
Nonfiction
- 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go by Jay Shetty.
- I’m No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts: Mini-Meditations for Saints, Sinners and the Rest of Us by Kristin Chenoweth.
- Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story by James R. Hagerty.
Children
- The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music written by Roberta Flack with Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Hayden Goodman.
- Sleepy Sheepy written by Lucy Ruth Cummins, illustrated by Pete Oswald.
- Virtually Me by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown.
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries collection. Find more in our catalog, or call 360-906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
Jan Johnston, Collection Manager
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
