Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate in the classroom! This may sound shocking. I am aware that Valentine's Day can bring about crushes and love and many other things that really are not a part of the classroom- I was in a classroom just last week where a teacher was telling her class there would be no 3rd grade Valentine's dance on the playground on February 14th. BUT, even with those challenges, I LOVE Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Day is an amazing day to spread kindness and do wonderful things to celebrate the people who serve our building and the wonderful friends that make up our classroom community. It is a time to remind students how important it is to pour love and kindness into the world. It can be such a warm and lovely holiday!
I also absolutely LOVE a good read aloud with my class. There are so many reasons I love read alouds (check those out here), but most importantly, it creates a shared experience for our class. This February, if you are looking for some great Valentine's Day themed read alouds, check out a few of my favorites.
Here is my quick list of 14 (See below for a little summary of each story).
14 Read Alouds for Valentine's Day
Someone Loves You Mr. Hatch
How to Catch a Loveosaurus
Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine
Olive My Love
Valentine's Day Jitters
Happy Valentine's Day George
Fancy Nancy Heart to Heart
Slugs In Love
Plant A Kiss
The Night Before Valentine's Day
Mr. Goat's Valentine
Hedgehugs
Here Comes Valentine Cat
Love Monster
BONUS: I Am Love
1. Someone Loves You Mr. Hatch
An absolute favorite book! In this story the lonely Mr. Hatch is surprised by a mysterious gift on Valentine's Day. As he tries to figure out who might have sent him this surprise Valentine, he finds laughter, joy, and excitement that he hasn't experienced in a while.
2. How to Catch a Loveosaurus
This book is part of the "How to Catch" Series. In this cute story the Catch Kid Club has headed to the museum to try to catch the rare Loveosaurus that has escaped!
3. Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine
Amelia Bedelia is known for her very literal interpretation of the world around her. In this story, Amelia is learning and experiencing Valentine's Day while bringing in her literal and humorous understanding.
4. Olive My Love
Olive My Love is the companion book to Olive, the Other Reindeer. In this story Olive has set out to return a heart to it's owner. But along her journey she meets many other characters, all of who show her what it means to share love with others.
5. Valentine's Day Jitters
This book is part of the "Jitters" series- capturing the classroom commotion of Sara Jane Hartwell's classroom. In this book, Ms. Hartwell is trying to plan the perfect Valentine's Day party for her class. Of course nothing goes as planned, but everyone ends up discovering the true meaning of Valentine's Day- showing other people how much you care about them!
6. Happy Valentine's Day Curious George
George is a classic little monkey- and this adventure is all about how much mischief he can get into with balloons, frosting, and glitter!
7. Fancy Nancy Heart to Heart
A girl as fancy as Nancy is going to have an epic Valentine's Day book! Readers will follow Nancy in this Valentine's Day adventure as she tries to discover just who sent her a secret Valentine! This book is of course full of rich vocabulary and epic fanciness that we've come to expect from Nancy.
8. Slugs in Love
This cute little book is about two slugs who will do anything to get noticed by the other. Of course being a slug is hard work, and there are many obstacles that get in the way of their journey to notice each other.
9. Plant a Kiss
Plant a Kiss is a beautiful book that illustrates how one simple act of kindness or love can grown bigger and bigger. In this book, Little Miss plants a kiss, but eventually that kiss turns into something absolutely dazzling! This book is written by the same author who wrote the books Spoon, Straw and Chopsticks.
10. The Night Before Valentine's Day
This book is part of "The Night Before" series. It follows the journey of a classroom of students preparing for Valentine's Day parties at school the next day. The illustrations are cute and diverse. The story ends the next day with the classroom Valentine's party.
11. Mr. Goat's Valentine
Written by Eve Bunting, this story follows Mr. Goat on an adventure to find his love the perfect gift. Of course, a perfect Valentine's Day gift for a goat is not the traditional gift you'd expect, but this book also shows that the meaning of a gift might be different from person to person.
12. Hedgehugs
This cute little book is about two hedgehogs who are very best friends. They love doing everything together, but because of their spikes they are unable to hug! They work together to try many different things to help them find a way to be able to hug each other, until one day they find the perfect solution!
13. Here Comes Valentine Cat
Cat is not a fan of Valentine's Day but his neighbor dog loves Valentine's Day. In this story, just at Cat is getting ready to send an angry non Valentine to Dog, Dog does something unexpected that just might change the way Cat thinks about Valentine's Day.
14. Love Monster
Love Monster is not the typically cuddly and cute creature you'd expect to find in Cutesville. As he sets out to find the perfect someone who will love him just for who he is he discovers that sometimes love is where you least expect to find it!
Bonus Book
I Am Love: A Book of Compassion
This beautifully illustrated book highlights for kids how love is shown through kindness, compassion, living with gratitude, and taking care of ourself. The book is beautifully illustrated and holds such an important meaning of self love and worth.
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