Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-If you have ever eaten the gift you meant to give to another, got caught in a third-grade love polygon, or had cherished property destroyed by pets, one of these 14 distinct poems by former Children's Poet Laureate Prelutsky will speak to you. In this new edition of Valentine's Day poems, Hafner's expressive illustrations update this collection with a bit more diversity of faces to introduce a new generation to these holiday gems. These images pair well with poems that are both funny and sweet, as Prelutsky's words aptly capture the age of early school years with poems set in the classroom, schoolyard, or home with odes to teachers, parents, pets, and "crummy" friends. Most poems translate well for this leveled reader, and rhythmic rhyming will help in decoding some of the more difficult words, but occasionally some vocabulary may be a bit challenging for a newly independent reader.-Danielle Jones, Multnomah County (OR) Library (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Coping with chilly weather, making and receiving valentines, enjoying chocolate hearts, and more are topics featured in these fourteen easy-to-read Valentine's Day poems. Prelutsky's humor and warmth come through in each selection. Newly independent readers will welcome this holiday collection, which includes Hafner's equally amusing illustrations. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The trouble with Valentine's Day as the latest occasion for a Prelutsky collection of easy-reader holiday rhymes is the aim-limited subject-matter: nobody does much but send valentines--and valentine doggerel sounds a lot like what Prelutsky's been writing for the whole series. Still, if much of this is predictable, it's also comfortably familiar and kid-like: ""You are ugly, you are simple,/and your brain is like a pimple,/you should soak your head in brine. . ./WON'T YOU BE MY VALENTINE?"" The few additional situations that develop are also universally recognizable: eating the contents of the chocolate box meant for mother, trying to get a cut-out heart even (and cutting it down to almost nothing). There's one straight valentine rhyme that kids might want to use themselves (""I Love You More Than Applesauce""); and, for a finale, a smidgin of real Prelutsky: ""I only got one valentine,/and that was signed/LOVE, FRANKENSTEIN."" Abolafia's sunny cartoons of kids' embarrassments do, however, give the tame verses considerable lift. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
