If You Were My Valentine

by Lynn Plourde, Jennifer L. Meyer (Illustrator)

This board book follow-up to  If I Could Give You Christmas  is an adorable celebration of love and the special relationship between parents and children.

If you were my valentine,
I would jump, jump with joy!

Valentine's Day is for cuddles, sweet treats, silly games, and spending time with the ones we hold dear. Join all kinds of animals and their valentines—from rabbits and puffins, to cougars and otters, to a bigger-than-big whale—in this cozy board book celebration of love.

Genres: Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Storytime, Love, Fiction, Animals

24 pages, Board Book

First published January 25, 2022

About the author

I write kids' books--talk about a FUN job! I worked for 21 years as a speech-language therapist in Maine schools. When I got married, I got 3 & 4-year-old stepsons as part of my ready-made family. I read the boys picture books at bedtime. They fell asleep after 2 or 3 books, but I kept reading stacks and stacks of picture books and started to dream . . . maybe I could write picture books. I was already writing educational books (listening & speaking ideas for the classroom), but PICTURE BOOKS--that was different!

Different, and sloooooow! I had 13 years of rejections before getting my first book published, Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud, and I still get more rejections than acceptances--even after having more than 40 books published. So I'm still an author-in-training--learning to be a better author all the time.

I LOVE writing, the whole creative process. I also LOVE sharing my books with kids at schools: doing interactive readings, turning one of my books into a play, and teaching students how to plan and write different kinds of stories (i.e. problem stories, character stories, graphic novel scenes, fables) modeled after my books.

I love to try new kinds of writing such as poetic stories, a biography, a graphic novel, and more. Writing new kinds of stories is a challenge, but it makes writing fun and keeps me interested in the process.

Reviews

[Ms. B]

If you were my valentine,
I would share this heartwarming story with you.
This is a lovely story about the love between adult animals and their young.
If you are looking for a new Valentines Day read-aloud that could be extended into a writing activity, this might be it.

[Anna]

ADORABLE BOOK. The illustrations are so freakin cute and beautiful. SO AMAZING. The story itself is really sweet too. Highly recommend. Would be perfect as a gift for your valentine.

[Tiff]

Beautiful illustrations in magenta purple, violets, pink and blue. So dreamy. Fills one's heart with love.

[Diana]

Nice illustrations.

[Alex]

So cute and the art was beautiful!

[Bethe]

Sweet little bedtime story for Valentine’s Day or whenever with adult animals wearing accessories, saying all the things they would do with their little ones to show their love. Attentive readers will notice the animals from the previous pages in the background of the next page. You know I love the cover art with the wolves!

[DiAnne Warfield]

Holt-Delhi library PJ story time 02-14-2024
Holt-Delhi library Preschool story time 02-14-2023

[A Allen]

The illustrations in this book are stunning! The pages feature animals such as whales, otters, deer, and birds. Each page begins with "If you were my valentine," and then finishes the sentiment differently. Unfortunately, I do not understand the sentiments on all the pages. For example, the page with the most beautiful illustration in my opinion reads, "If you were my valentine, I would catch the moon and the stars for you." What does that mean? I do not dislike it but I would not buy it either.

[Adriana]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
A lovely story to read to your little one for valentine's day. Depicts exotic animals donning cute accessories and expressing love in different ways.

Highlights: Story takes the reader through various landscapes with each animal leading to the next. Multiple love languages explored.

Lowlights: Artwork may be too detailed or advanced for young readers but it is beautiful!

[Lauren]

The story is insipid (“if you were my Valentine… you would be my Valentine…” 😐) but the cozy, diffuse, backlit illustrations of charming illustrations depicting adorable animal families are worth investigating.

[Rose Rosetree]

This sentimental fantasy book shows all kinds of animals snuggling and cuddling.
You'll read about lots of love, and child-sized expressions of affection.

When you're in the mood for unalloyed mushiness, this is just the thing. (Provided one caveat, which I'll note in the comments.)

[Elizabeth]

Pretty illustrations.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks)]

The artwork alone is stunning

[Mary]

Simple message with gorgeous artwork. I would frame each of these pictures.

[Sarita]

The illustrations are gold

[James]

My little one was practically crying over how cute the pictures are in this book!

[Nitza Campos]

gorgeous illustrations

[Sara]

Gorgeous pictures

[Grunge SeaBunny]

🩷🩷🩷🩷

[Cheri]

I love the illustrations in this book!!!

[Shari]

Beautiful pictures and story.

[Ember Moto]

sweet story with pretty illustrations. I wanted to frame some of the page's cause of how pretty the artwork was!

[Jennie]

Beautiful art, love the words, too!

[Danielle]

I loved the illustrations! A sweet book, perfect for a read aloud around Valentine's Day.