Ever since my blessedly brief stint as an elementary school librarian, I’ve loved Valentine’s Day. The students come to school excited with the idea of doing nice things for other people and letting people know how much they love them. Plus – plus! There are so many fun, funny, and cute picture books about Valentine’s Day! My favorite might be Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, but don’t hold me to that.

Strangely, these books seem to fade out of existence at the Middle Grade level. (As an aside, it really confuses the children that looking up ‘romance’ as a subject only returns books about King Arthur.) So in case you, like me, are looking for some good Valentine’s Day reads for your middle graders, look no further! These titles should hit the spot:

Small Medium at Large, by Joanne Levy – Lila Bloom is struck by lightning and gains the ability to talk to ghosts, but can they help her overcome her fears and approach her biggest crush – Andrew Finkel?

Crush: the Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Love by Gary Paulsen – Will the hilarious Kevin ask out his crush, Tina, or will he only think about it forever?

The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin – Twelve year old best friends Eliza and Julia’s relationship is tested when they meet a new boy on whom they both develop a crush.

The Boy Project and The Boy Problem by Kami Kinard – Tabbi alternately applies techniques from science class and math class to solve the problem of finding a boyfriend, with amusing results.

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung – What’s a boy to do when the new secret identity of his favorite superhero turns out to be the girl he has a crush on?

Happy almost Valentine’s Day, everyone!