Valentines Day Bibliography    back to resource page

Elementary

  1. The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond.  On the day it rains hearts, Cornelia Augusta makes Valentine cards for four of her friends. K-3
  2. 1,2,3 Valentines Day by Jeanne Modesitt.  Mister Mouse delivers Valentine gifts to his friends in this counting picture book that includes a Valentine activity. K-3
  3. All New Crafts for Valentine’s Day by Kathy Ross.  Provides instructions for creating a variety of Valentine's Day crafts, including cards, bookmarks, bracelets, Valentine holders, magnets, and more. Gr. 3-6
  4. Arthurs Great Big Valentine by Lillian Hoban.  After they have a falling out, Arthur and his best friend Norman make up with very special valentines.
  5. The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson.  This inspired treatment of an age-old tale communicates plenty about love. K-3
  6. The Berenstain Bears Funny Valentine.  As Valentine's Day approaches, Sister hopes for more attention from one boy and less from another. K-3
  7. Hearts Cupids and Red Roses by Edna Barth.  The history of Valentine's Day and the little-known stories behind its symbols. Gr. 4-7
  8. Holiday Ha Ha’s Valentine’s Day jokes & Riddle by Craig Yoe.  Contains over three hundred jokes, riddles, and puns based on Valentine's Day. Gr. 3-6
  9. It’s Valentines Day by Jack Prelutsky.  A collection of Valentine poems including "I Made My Dog a Valentine" and "I Love You More Than Applesauce". K-3
  10. Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine i.e. Valentine by Barbara Park.  When Junie B. Jones receives a mushy gushy "valentime" on Valentine's Day, she tries to find out who in her kindergarten class is her secret admirer. K-3
  11. The Story of Valentines Day by Clyde Robert Bulla.  Relates the history and describes the customs of this holiday from its beginning in Roman times to the present. Gr. 3-6
  12. Four Stupid Cupids by Gregory McGuire.  The students' scheme to find a love match for their beloved teacher on Valentine's Day turns into a comedy of errors when four stupid cupids from Ancient Greece try to help. Gr. 4-7
  13. Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie Freidman. After Ruby Valentine misses her favorite holiday of the year, her parrot, Lovebird, convinces her that every day is the perfect day to say "I love you." K-2
  14. 213 Valentines by Barbara Cohen.  Wade has trouble adjusting when he is transferred to a special fourth grade class for the gifted and talented, so he plans to send himself 213 valentines signed by celebrities. Gr. 2-5
  15. Valentine Express by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace.  Minna and Pip make Valentine's Day gifts for their neighbors after learning about the history of the holiday at school. K-2
  16. Attack of the 50 Foot Cupid by Jim Benton.  Frannie tries to prevent chaos when her new lab assistant, Igor, a dog of many breeds, accidentally lets loose a giant, fifty-foot, arrow-shooting cupid. Gr. 2-5
  17. Valentine School Parties, What Do I Do? By Wilhemina Ripple.  A great resource for schools and other groups. It covers games, snacks, crafts and activities for all elementary ages.
  18.  Biscuit’s Valentines’s Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. Lift up flaps on each page show the trouble a puppy gets into as he and his owner make Valentine’s Day deliveries.  Ages 3-6.
  19.  Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda.  Explains who Saint Valentine was and how Valentine’s Day came to be K-5.
  20.  The Best Thing About Valentines by Eleanor Hudson.  Young children will enjoy reading this sweet rhyming story, narrated by a young child who loves to make cards and give them to family, friends, and classmates. K-4

Middle School

  1. Hearts Cupids and Red Roses by Edna Barth.  The history of Valentine's Day and the little-known stories behind its symbols. 4-7
  2. The Unsigned Valentine and Other Events in the Life of Emma Meade by Johanna Hurwitz.  In early twentieth-century Vermont, fifteen-year-old Emma confides in her diary both her hopes of becoming a farmer's wife one day and her frustrations with her parents' belief that she is too young to be courted by the handsome Cole Berry.
  3. Greetings, With Love by Michelle Karl.  Explores the history of the earliest Valentines plus Valentines Day history and miscellanea.
  4. Lets Celebrate Valentine’s Day by Peter and Connie Roop.  Describes some history and customs connected with St. Valentine’s Day and presents jokes, riddles, activities, and recipes to help celebrate this holiday.
  5. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.  Sixteen year old Vivian, a werewolf, falls in love with a human and her loyalties are strained.
  6. Crush:  Stories by Ellen Conford.  A Series of 9 romantic episodes in the lives of students as they plan for the Valentine’s Day Dance.
  7. Rat Boys:  A Dating Experiment by Thom Eberhardt.  Fourteen-year-olds Marci and Summer use a magic ring to turn two rats into cute boys so that they can have dates for the Spring Fling.
  8. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draan.  In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years.
  9. If you Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson. After meeting at their private school in New York, fifteen-year-old Jeremiah, who is black,  and Ellie, who is white, fall in love and then try to cope with people’s reactions.
  10. Happy Valentines’s Day! By Carol Barkin.  Gives a short history of Valentine’s Day and also includes recipes and craft activities.
  11. Valentines Day by Fern Brown.  Traces the origins of Valentine’s Day and the history, since 1800, of the Valentine’s card.  Also includes recipes for a Valentine’s Day party.
  12. Valentines Fun by Judith Hoffman Corwin.  Gives instructions for making greeting cards, decoration, gift wraps, etc.  Also includes recipes and a history of the holiday and its’ customs.
  13. I Am Wings, Poems About Love by Ralph Fletcher. A collection of poems chronicling a relationship between two young people, from first glance through final goodbye to the stirrings of possible new love.
  14. To Every Season, A Family Holiday Cookbook by Jane Breskin Zalben.  Gives brief histories and recipes for such holidays as Valentine's Day, Easter, Passover, the Fourth of July, and Kwanzaa.
  15. Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet presented by Michael Rosen.  A prose retelling of the classic Shakespeare love story of Romeo and Juliet incorporating lines from the play.
  16.  Romeo and Juliet together (and Alive!) At Last by Avi.  The eighth grade's plan to get two reluctant "lovers" together by means of a classroom production of Shakespeare's play has some very unexpected results.
  17. Greetings, With Love by Michelle Karl.  Explores the history of, and illustrates the earliest Valentines.  Also includes Valentines Day history and miscellanea.
  18. Lily B. on the Brink of Love by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.  Aspiring author and eighth-grader Lily Blennerhassett hones her writing skills as her school newspaper's advice columnist while also trying to get her first crush, The Boy, to notice her.
  19. The Boy Who Owned the School: A Comedy of Love by Gary Paulson. Jacob Freisten, often in a fog, tries to ease through high school unnoticed; but a beautiful classmate takes notice of him and his life begins to change.
  20. Chicken soup for the teenage soul on love & friendship  compiled by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger.  A collection of inspirational writings for teens on the topic of love and friendship.
  21. The Boy of my dreams by Dyan  Sheldon.  Mike and her best friend Hope breathlessly await meeting the guys of their dreams and falling in love, but after Mike thinks that she has found the perfect boy there seems to be some question of whether he is her destiny.
  22. Motown and Didi; a love story  by Walter Dean Myers.  Motown and Didi, two teenage loners in Harlem, become allies in a fight against Touchy, the drug dealer whose dope is destroying Didi's brother, and find themselves falling in love with each other.

High School

  1. Marly’s Ghost by David Levithan. The spirit of Ben's girlfriend Marly returns with three other ghosts to haunt him with a painful journey though Valentine's Days past, present, and future.
  2. The Anti-Valentine’s Handbook by Johan More.  Contends that, in reality, everyone hates Valentine's Day, and offers humorous advice to people in relationships and on their own on how to survive the hoopla.
  3. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.  Sixteen year old Vivian, a werewolf, falls in love with a human and her loyalties are strained.
  4. Crush:  Stories by Ellen Conford.  A Series of 9 romantic episodes in the lives of students as they plan for the Valentine’s Day Dance.
  5. If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson. After meeting at their private school in New York, fifteen-year-old Jeremiah, who is black, and Ellie, who is white, fall in love and then try to cope with people’s reations.
  6. Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli.  The gods grant immortality to the mermaid Sirena when she rescues a human man from the sea and they fall in love, but his mortality creates conflict between love and honor when he is called to defend Greece in the Trojan War.
  7. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.  Raised by a mother who’s had five husbands, eighteen-year-old Remy believe in short-term, no-commitment relationships until she meets Dexter, a rock band musician.
  8. Happy Valentines’s Day! By Carol Barkin.  Gives a short history of Valentine’s Day and also includes recipes and craft activities.
  9. Valentines Day by Fern Brown.  Traces the origins of  Valentine’s Day and the history, since 1800 of the valentines card.  Also includes recipes for a Valentine’s party.
  10. Valentines Fun by Judith Hoffman Corwin.  Gives instructions for making greeting cards, decoration, gift wraps, etc.  Also includes recipes and a history of the holiday and it’s customs.
  11. Sonnets from the Portuguese and other love poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  A classic collection of love poems.
  12. Shakespeare in Love; The Love Poetry of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare.  Contains Shakespeare’s timeless love poems plus beautiful photographs from the movie Shakespeare in Love.
  13. A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories About Love by Cynthia Rylant.  A collection of eight short stories in which a variety of special characters experience the transfiguring power of love.
  14.  Mary Englebreit’s Winter Craft Book - Presents a variety of craft ideas and recipes for winter, themed to Christmas, Hanukkah, the New Year, Valentine's, and St. Patrick's Day.
  15. The Teen Survival Guide to Dating & Relating: Real-world Advice on Guys, Girls, Growing up, and Getting Along by Annie Fox.  Presents a guide on dating for teens, including advice on relationships and growing up, from tips on finding and keeping friends, siblings and parents, to dealing with teachers, and more.
  16. Who Am I Without Him;  Stories About Girls and the Boys in Their Lives by Sharon Flake.  A collection of short stories for teens by African-American writer Sharon Flake.
  17. Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper.  Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating.
  18. Greetings, With Love by Michelle Karl.  Explores the history of, and illustrates the earliest Valentines.  Also includes Valentines Day history and miscellanea.
  19. Romeo and Juliet adapted by Tom Gorman.  Presents an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, two young people whose love is doomed by their feuding families.  Hi/lo
  20. This Must Be Love by Tui Sutherland.  "Based on A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare." Two good friends tell of strange occurrences between themselves and the boys they like during a high school production of "Romeo and Juliet," which are reminiscent of the magical world of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
  21. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Love & Friendship,  compiled by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger.  A collection of inspirational writings for teens on the topic of love and friendship.
  22. Gone with the wind by Margaret Mitchell.  After the Civil War sweeps away the genteel life to which she has been accustomed, Scarlett O'Hara sets about to salvage her plantation home.
Other Romantic High School Novels
Crystal   F Mye
Jane Eyre   F Bro
The Ebony Swan  F Whi
A Virtuous Woman   F Gib
Nightbirds on Nantucket   F Aik
A Walk to Remember   F Spa
Mates, dates, and Cosmic Kisses   F Hop
Talk to Me; Stories and a Novella   SC Din
Summers at Castle Auburn   F Shi
Don't Die, My Love    F McD
Marly's Ghost   F Lev
So Much to Live For   F McD
The Wedding   F Spa
Can you Keep a Secret?    F Kin
Doctor Zhivago    F Pas
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas   F Pat
Both Sides of Time   F Coo
The Hand I Fan With   F Ans
Ramona    F Jac
True Confessions of a Heartless Girl    F Bro
The Confidence Factor     158.1 Bri
Taste Berries for Teens   158.128 Tas
a Couple of Kooks and Other Stories About Love    SC Ryl
Friendship and Love   177.6 Ste
Reach for Tomorrow   F McD
Trick of the Mind   F Wai
A Lion's Hunger    811 Tur
Where the Heart Is   F Let
The Boyfriend List   F Loc
Tender is the Night    F Fit
Life in the fat lane   F Ben
Love him Forever    F Ben
The Alison Rules   F Cla
The Road Less Traveled  158.1 Pec
The Rescue   F Spa
The Notebook    F Spa
Ivanhoe    F Sco

 AV Materials

  1. The Berenstain bears and cupid's surprise. VT6931, Kids Klassics, 1989.  The whole Berenstain Bear Family gets involved when Brother Bear starts receiving mushy valentines from a secret admirer. Elem.
  2. Little mouse's big valentine. VT4990,  American School Publishers, 1991.  This is the story of Little Mouse and his search for someone special to give his valentine to, the adventures he has along the way, and the friendship he finds in unexpected places. Elem.
  3. One zillion valentines. VT4469, Random House Video, 1989.  Two boys named Marvin and Milton have fun making valentines and learn important lessons about giving and sharing. Elem. and middle.
  4. Valentine.  PT0035, Classic School Products, 1980.  Contains five valentine puppets.  Should order mitt also. Elem.
  5. Valentine's Day Grump. VT7036, Troll, 1988. A valentine might make Gus the grump happy but nobody gives him one. Elem.
  6. Valentine's Day. VT5215, Schlessinger, 1994.  Explores the symbols, customs, rituals and folklore underlying the celebration of Valentine's Day. Elem. and middle.
  7. Valentine's Day. VT5053, Coleman Communications, 1993. Traces Valentine's Day back to ancient Rome and recounts the story of the person many believe was the first Valentine, a cleric who defied Roman law by marrying young soldiers about to be sent into battle.  Elem. and middle.
  8. Disney Winnie the Pooh un-Valentine's Day.  VT5703, Disney, 19--.  Rabbit insists they cancel Valentine's Day because of the flood of cards that littered the Hundered Acre Wood last year!  Elem.
  9. True Love. VT4101  WRI Education, 1990.  The characters of the play Romeo and Juliet interact with a young studio audience on a lively talk-show. The discussions accurately follow the script.  High School.
  10. West Side Story.  VT1781 CBS/Fox Video. Updates the classic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, set in the late 1950's in a New York ethnic street gang expose. High School
  11. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet [video]. Twentieth Century Fox.  Leonardo De Caprio and Clare Danes star in this modern version of Romeo and Juliet. PG-13. High School.
  12. The Gift of Love, VT2928, The setting is the early 1900's New York city where we find a wealthy orphan dutifully resigned to an arranged-for marriage when her heart is captured by a young Swiss immigrant. High School.
  13. It Must Be Love 'Cause I Feel So Dumb. VT2877, Learning Corp. of America, 1976.  A humorous and touching story that captures the awkwardness of adolescent first love and points out the sometimes painful process of deciding personal values and learning to judge relationships with other people.  Middle School.

     

     

     




     

 

Websites

  1. Happy Valentines Day.  http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/
  2. Kid’s Domain Valentine’s Day.  http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/val/
  3. Valentine’s Day, Not Like it Used to Be.  http://wilstar.com/holidays/valentn.htm
  4. Valentine’s Day Cards.  http://www.123greetings.com/events/valentines_day/
  5. Valentine’s Day Facts and Activities.  http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/valentine.htm
  6. Valentine Traditions. http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm#traditions
  7. Valentine’s Day Activities. http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/valentines.htm
  8. Cards and Crafts for Valentine’s Day. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/valentine/
  9. Valentine’s Day Poems. http://www.poemsforfree.com/valpo.html
  10. Valentine’s Day Fun and Games. http://blackdog.net/holiday/valentine/