10 Valentine Friends

PreS-Gr 1—During a neighborhood party, 10 children work diligently to make just the right valentine cards for one another. Aloysius has "sweet-tooth wishes," so he gives Alexandra chocolate kisses, while Priscilla gives Tom a gorilla card in honor of his favorite animal. From the outset, the rhyme scheme jolts along, forcing rhymes like, "A dinosaur card, thinks little Pete,/my pal Max would find real neat." The digital artwork is a sugar overload with pinks, reds, and purples dominating the palette. There is a lack of depth, leaving the activities on each spread hard to distinguish from the background. The children resemble bobblehead dolls complete with manic grins and static limbs. The moral of giving thoughtful handmade valentines to friends is made woefully trite, as neither the rhyme scheme nor the artwork has any real sweetness.—Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, OH