What do you think?
Rate this book
The Night Before Valentine's Day
It's the sweetest holiday of the year! Celebrate love and Valentine's Day with card-making, tasty treats, and more in this installment of Natasha Wing's best-selling series.
Join in on all of the colorful fun, and then come along to school the next morning for a day of parties and games!
Join in on all of the colorful fun, and then come along to school the next morning for a day of parties and games!
32 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 2000
About the author
Natasha Wing
74 books136 followersWhy am I a writer? When I was a young girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I’d line up my stuffed animals in front of a board and teach them the alphabet and how to count. In high school I wanted to be a tennis player. I was on the tennis team, and played at our neighborhood tennis club. Then in college I thought digging dinosaur bones would be a cool job. It wasn’t until I was working at my own public relations agency that I decided I really wanted to write children’s books. I was so inspired by the magic of reading a book that I wanted to see if my active imagination could create magical moments for kids all over the world. I started to write, then sent my stories to publishers, and sold my first manuscript in 1992. I’ve been writing ever since.
Why I write now.
I love the freedom of being my own boss, of coming up with ideas on my own and writing that first draft to see if my idea has any spark. I’m not so crazy about the revising process although there are thrilling moments when I figure out a better way to say something, or when I nail dialog, or work through a complicated plot line. The most exciting moment is when an editor says they want to publish my manuscript. Then I know all my hard work has paid off, and that soon, children will enter my imaginative world through a book.
Why I write now.
I love the freedom of being my own boss, of coming up with ideas on my own and writing that first draft to see if my idea has any spark. I’m not so crazy about the revising process although there are thrilling moments when I figure out a better way to say something, or when I nail dialog, or work through a complicated plot line. The most exciting moment is when an editor says they want to publish my manuscript. Then I know all my hard work has paid off, and that soon, children will enter my imaginative world through a book.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
February 13, 2018
Natasha Wing again brings another holiday to the text of 'Twas the Night before Christmas'. The story is cute and the art tells the story. Not a whole lot here.
The kids enjoyed this story about valentine's. They recognized the rhyme scheme. They were quiet while it was read.
The kids enjoyed this story about valentine's. They recognized the rhyme scheme. They were quiet while it was read.
February 14, 2019
This was just okay. I thought it was going to be way better than it ended up being. From the first lines that were written on the back of the book, it sounded so cute.
"'Twas the night before Valentine's Day, and all through the town, Children were busy, not making a sound. They gathered their scissors, their glitter and glue, Pink and red paper, and paintbrushes, too..."
I couldn't wait to dive into the rest of the story, but I found the rest of the lines and rhymes average, and some of them downright did not work for me.
A pig card was shown and it said "Hogs + Kisses." That doesn't work for a Valentine's Day card because the holiday has nothing to do with pigs. A line said they put an arrow in just the right place and it showed a card with a stick person and an arrow going through their head. Now what about that is the right place? That's grisly for a kid's book, to have them thinking of arrows going through people's heads. Why not have them draw an arrow going through the heart as it's supposed to be?
These illustrations are adorable! As soon as I opened the book I actually said "Oh my goodness!" They're so colorful and eye-catching.
It's sweet and common to think about 2 teachers falling in love, but boy, that does not work today. I was uncomfortable as the text mentioned someone dropped by a bouquet addressed to their teacher, and she blushed and they all knew it was from Mr. O'Meyer. He was standing in the hallway peeking into the room. That would not fly today! You'd be fired faster than you can think if a teacher demonstrated their feelings towards another teacher in front of the class.
There were so many cute details. The title page showed a little girl handing the elderly man bus driver a Valentine's Day card and he was smiling. What a sweet idea.
The first 2 pages were by far the best. They showed a blue house with pink porch and purple roof, a purple house with yellow and green trim and a red roof, and a pink house with a handful of red bricks showing through the pink paint, and a red roof and green door. I mean the colors are crazy if you think about a real house looking like that, but they work here because they're so pleasant to look at.
All of the kids are in front of their windows filling out cards. There's a snowman with 3 big hearts on its body, wings, and he's holding a bow. How cute!
Instead of sugarplums they dreams of candy hearts with different sayings on them and that was creative.
"'Twas the night before Valentine's Day, and all through the town, Children were busy, not making a sound. They gathered their scissors, their glitter and glue, Pink and red paper, and paintbrushes, too..."
I couldn't wait to dive into the rest of the story, but I found the rest of the lines and rhymes average, and some of them downright did not work for me.
A pig card was shown and it said "Hogs + Kisses." That doesn't work for a Valentine's Day card because the holiday has nothing to do with pigs. A line said they put an arrow in just the right place and it showed a card with a stick person and an arrow going through their head. Now what about that is the right place? That's grisly for a kid's book, to have them thinking of arrows going through people's heads. Why not have them draw an arrow going through the heart as it's supposed to be?
These illustrations are adorable! As soon as I opened the book I actually said "Oh my goodness!" They're so colorful and eye-catching.
It's sweet and common to think about 2 teachers falling in love, but boy, that does not work today. I was uncomfortable as the text mentioned someone dropped by a bouquet addressed to their teacher, and she blushed and they all knew it was from Mr. O'Meyer. He was standing in the hallway peeking into the room. That would not fly today! You'd be fired faster than you can think if a teacher demonstrated their feelings towards another teacher in front of the class.
There were so many cute details. The title page showed a little girl handing the elderly man bus driver a Valentine's Day card and he was smiling. What a sweet idea.
The first 2 pages were by far the best. They showed a blue house with pink porch and purple roof, a purple house with yellow and green trim and a red roof, and a pink house with a handful of red bricks showing through the pink paint, and a red roof and green door. I mean the colors are crazy if you think about a real house looking like that, but they work here because they're so pleasant to look at.
All of the kids are in front of their windows filling out cards. There's a snowman with 3 big hearts on its body, wings, and he's holding a bow. How cute!
Instead of sugarplums they dreams of candy hearts with different sayings on them and that was creative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2013
I picked up this book just as an extra something to stick inside my niece's Valentine's Day package. Turns out, it's a nifty little preview of activities to expect on Valentine's Day. It illustrates a typical preschool celebration - the creating of the Valentines boxes to hold the Valentine cards, the passing out of the cards, all of the paper heart decorations and candy and, of course, the subject of L.O.V.E
February 1, 2016
This book is a twist on "The Night Before Christmas" and instead shows the students getting read for their Valentine's Day party. It shows the actually party which many children can relate to because many classrooms have a Valentine's Day party. I liked this book because it would always make me excited for my Valentine's Day party as a child.
December 28, 2011
This is another book that is based on Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Using the familiar cadence of that well-known poem, the author constructs this contrived and tedious ode to Valentine's Day. It doesn't work very well other than to demonstrate how one text can inspire another.
February 1, 2013
This is cute and part of a cute series. I like it because its so simple but it really captures the holiday in a way that children can understand. The kids I have read this to think its a fun book and it really gets them excited for their Valentines day party.
July 13, 2013
This is a cute little play on "The Night Before Christmas". I read this to a kindergarten class on the day before Valentines' day right before they were going to do a related art activity. We talked about ideas from the book while we worked on the art project.
March 27, 2009
Patterned after the Night Before Christmas...good trade book for Valentine's Day activites and crafts
September 22, 2009
This is such a cute book to read to children on Valentine's Day or before the holiday. It's fun rhyming structure parodies "The Night Before Christmas."
Read
February 12, 2024Very short, quick-read book. The book is full of rhyming and the illustrations are very detailed. The book walks through the traditional Valentine's Day rituals in the elementary setting such as the exchange of valentines, a class party, a delivery of a bouquet to the teacher from a secret admirer.
February 8, 2022
What a super cute book
December 6, 2022
This book will give the nostalgia feeling. It centers around our childhood Valentine Day's activities. Sadly, no mention of the Christian Saint by the name of Valentine.
February 19, 2023
Library date ♡
February 12, 2016
I can remember the librarian from my elementary school always having books on top of the book shelves that always went with a theme. If there was a holiday nearing us, she would have related books set on top of the shelves. If certain grade levels were studying a specific topic, those books would be set out on display. On library day she would read those books to us, and it was such a relaxing and calming time. I loved her smooth voice that
paused long enough for me to hear the creaking of the turning pages.
Now that I'm a mommy I get to take the same idea the librarian had and use it in my home. My husband and I have filled a huge bookshelf with an assortment of children's books. There are board books on one shelf, chapter books on another, a couple of random shelves, and then there is the shelf that holds our holiday specific books. A few weeks before a holiday we start reading corresponding books as part of our nightly routine to our daughter. I think I enjoy it more than my daughter.
Since Valentine's Day is near we've pulled out those related topic books. One of my favorites is The Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing. It's illustrated by Heidi Petach. It's a funny little book that has the same rhyming verse as the classic The Night Before Christmas. It's a perfect length for a toddler or young child to listen to without losing interest.
After I do the initial read, I like to find ways to create learning experiences while reading the book. There are so many ways to include learning with this particular book. I like to count the hearts on each page. Don't worry if your child can't count yet. You can point and count for your child. They are learning from that experience. An older toddler or young school age child will enjoy finding and counting the hearts. It a great way to sneak in some math. The illustrations are so great in this book you can also do an object search. You can have younger toddlers point to a specific object on the page. For children working on colors, you can have them point to objects based on certain colors. If you want to include some literacy, have you child listen as you reread a page and identify the rhyming words.
I also think it's great to base daily activities off of books. So, for this book you could obviously just make Valentine's Day cards. There is also a page in this book where the art teacher is painting the students' faces. If you don't want to face paint but your child likes to paint, look in the background of that page's illustrations. There are pieces of art that are animals made out of hearts. This is a great yet simple art project! You could also have a Valentine's Day snack inspired by the one the kids had in the book.
We bought this book at Books-A-Million 2 years ago for $3.99. You can actually get it a little cheaper right now on Amazon. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
You can check out more of my book reviews at https://www.fabebook.com/theminorbook...
paused long enough for me to hear the creaking of the turning pages.
Now that I'm a mommy I get to take the same idea the librarian had and use it in my home. My husband and I have filled a huge bookshelf with an assortment of children's books. There are board books on one shelf, chapter books on another, a couple of random shelves, and then there is the shelf that holds our holiday specific books. A few weeks before a holiday we start reading corresponding books as part of our nightly routine to our daughter. I think I enjoy it more than my daughter.
Since Valentine's Day is near we've pulled out those related topic books. One of my favorites is The Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing. It's illustrated by Heidi Petach. It's a funny little book that has the same rhyming verse as the classic The Night Before Christmas. It's a perfect length for a toddler or young child to listen to without losing interest.
After I do the initial read, I like to find ways to create learning experiences while reading the book. There are so many ways to include learning with this particular book. I like to count the hearts on each page. Don't worry if your child can't count yet. You can point and count for your child. They are learning from that experience. An older toddler or young school age child will enjoy finding and counting the hearts. It a great way to sneak in some math. The illustrations are so great in this book you can also do an object search. You can have younger toddlers point to a specific object on the page. For children working on colors, you can have them point to objects based on certain colors. If you want to include some literacy, have you child listen as you reread a page and identify the rhyming words.
I also think it's great to base daily activities off of books. So, for this book you could obviously just make Valentine's Day cards. There is also a page in this book where the art teacher is painting the students' faces. If you don't want to face paint but your child likes to paint, look in the background of that page's illustrations. There are pieces of art that are animals made out of hearts. This is a great yet simple art project! You could also have a Valentine's Day snack inspired by the one the kids had in the book.
We bought this book at Books-A-Million 2 years ago for $3.99. You can actually get it a little cheaper right now on Amazon. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
You can check out more of my book reviews at https://www.fabebook.com/theminorbook...
January 12, 2018
Copyright 2000. A Scholastic book. A gift from one of my kid's teacher, this became a favorite right away. Told simply in rhyme. It loosely follows Clement Moore's more famous Christmas tale.
The illustrations are really cute too!
The illustrations are really cute too!
Read
February 11, 2012*Review posted on Mundie Kids on 2/20/2012*
My kids and I love the familiar rhythm of Clement C. Moore's poem and set to the theme of Valentine's Day makes it even more interesting because we look forward to the changes made from the original. For example instead of sugarplums dancing, there are "visions of candy hearts".
But, the best part of the story is how Natasha incorporates the Valentine's Day rituals of elementary school aged children -- exchange of valentines, a class party, a delivery of a bouquet to the teacher from a secret admirer (that the class recognizes) and how the principal dressed up as Cupid! This is somthing that both my children and I relate to and laugh at. Any book that can make generations laugh together is a good one in my opinion. Be sure to pick this book up at the Valentines Day displays at your favorite bookstore.
My kids and I love the familiar rhythm of Clement C. Moore's poem and set to the theme of Valentine's Day makes it even more interesting because we look forward to the changes made from the original. For example instead of sugarplums dancing, there are "visions of candy hearts".
But, the best part of the story is how Natasha incorporates the Valentine's Day rituals of elementary school aged children -- exchange of valentines, a class party, a delivery of a bouquet to the teacher from a secret admirer (that the class recognizes) and how the principal dressed up as Cupid! This is somthing that both my children and I relate to and laugh at. Any book that can make generations laugh together is a good one in my opinion. Be sure to pick this book up at the Valentines Day displays at your favorite bookstore.
July 19, 2016
We are huge fans of all the books in this series by Natasha Wing. She does such a great job of changing the famous poem, 'Twas the night before Christmas, and adapting it to fit each holiday. In this book, the reader follows a group of kids as they prepare to celebrate Valentine's Day at school. The night before they make special cards at home to share with their classmates. The next day, they participate in all of the fun school activities associated with the holiday. They decorate the room, giggle about a secret admirer, play games, do art, swap cards, enjoy treats and finally get a special surprise from Cupid. The story is incredibly cute, told in a wonderful rhyme and includes some playful illustrations.
October 26, 2022
I really enjoy Wing's holiday books!
Ages: 4 - 8
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me, my perspective and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell!
Ages: 4 - 8
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me, my perspective and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell!
January 29, 2024
I loved the illustrations in this Reading Railroad book, but the whole idea of this being a Valentine's version of the "Night Before Christmas" poem just doesn't work. The book should have just been written as a day at school during Valentine's Day. Not to mention - I was put off right away as the cover has three of the "Message" valentine's hearts on it, and the main one says "Buy Me". Wow, let's teach our children to be little consumers right off the bat!
January 27, 2015
Using "The Night Before Christmas" as inspiration, this is a darling little poem of some children getting ready for Valentine's Day and their party at school. Candy hearts, valentines, decorating and dressing with a lot of hearts is some of the fun that is described. Cute book for teaching a child about ways we celebrate the day.
November 1, 2009
The children are busy preparing for Valentine's day. Read about all the things they did in order to get ready. The principal has a big surprise for them at the end.
Good book to read around Valentine's day. It also has a lot of rhyming words.
Good book to read around Valentine's day. It also has a lot of rhyming words.
March 1, 2015
My second graders liked comparing this to 'Twas the Night Before Christmas so it was familiar and they liked it for that. They also liked discussing if it was similar to what they did to prepare for Valentine's Day.
February 10, 2016
This book is a spin off of the original 'Twas the Night Before Christmas story. It transformed the old, traditional words from the Christmas version to a new and creative version for Valentine's Day. I would definitely read this in my future classroom the day before Valentine's Day.
January 18, 2015
The rhyming is cute and entertaining even to my 8 month old. She loves the full page pictures. All in all a good Valentine's day themed book if you are looking for one.
January 7, 2012
I read a lot of books and think that they are all good books. So I thought this book was a good book.
April 5, 2012
Very cute & great for pre-school age!
July 30, 2012
Cute story, every classroom needs it.
March 7, 2013
A cute book to add to your Valentine's Day shelf.
February 16, 2016
megan winter reading 2016, children's book, picture book, holiday book, valentine's day, series, the night before, prek, kindergarten, first grade
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2013
Nice book shows American customs.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews