Will You Be My Valentine?

by Steven Kroll, Lillian Hoban (Illustrator)

Thomas is delighted to draw Gretchen's name to be the recipient of his valentine at school, but then he worries that she does not like him

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Friendship, Holiday

1 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[AleJandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Quién diría, que los niños de kindergarden tienen tanto drama personal?

A mi hija le gusto mucho. A ver qué tal le va en su primer San Valentín en la escuela.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if it’s a great book but it is like a life lesson so I gave it an extra star.

Story:

Boy has to write a Valentine for classmate. He likes her. She treats him like crap. His mom invites her over to play. They have a nice time. Back to school. Giving out valentines to each other. She doesn’t pay attention to his one though he worked hard on it but pays attention to another boy who gives her a Valentine. He’s upset. Then at the end of the day she gives him a Valentine because the other boy had given her a Valentine by mistake. It was meant for another girl.

The illustrations are nice but the story is quite sad to me.

[James Greening · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this Children's book, as it has a vintage look and feel with the illustrations (which were very good), but I just did not like how the boy reacts when the girl looks like she is ignoring him. The boy reacts very violently (for his age) or overreacts, and I do not think those actions should be displayed in a child's book, which should be demonstrating how boys should react to rejection, instead of exhibiting the very actions that good young men should NOT take. Might serve as a good discussion piece with your child, but I would probably avoid this one.

[Marissa Elera · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just don't like the icky representation of gender roles and consent.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just never know how someone really feels about you until you get to know them. Really cute story to go along with a Valentine's Day theme.

[Bev · Rating 1 out of 5]

Out of date

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An oldie but a goodie. When the teacher matches up students for an exchange of Valentines, Thomas is delighted to get matched with a girl he really likes: Gretchen. He works hard on making something special for her. But when another boy threatens to make moves on her, some hurt feelings ensue. Love Lillian Hoban's illustrations.

[Kelly Veatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute little love story for children! My kindergartners loved it!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holiday: Valentine's day