Baby & Toddler
Pre-K
Growing Reader
Valentine’s Day Picture Book Gifts for Little Readers
by Janssen Bradshaw
I think Valentine’s Day is such a little February blessing.
The big holidays are long since over, the glow of the new year is starting to fade, and winter still seems like it has a long time to go, with lots of time cooped up inside.
And then comes Valentine’s Day, with lots of celebrating, hearts, and happiness. It’s just about the best thing that could happen right smack in the middle of those long winter months.
My girls love Valentine’s Day and I’ve loved making it a festive occasion in our home the past few years.
I especially love adding to our Valentine’s Day book collection every year and gifting them each a book that they’ll enjoy reading over and over again, probably snuggled up with some hot chocolate.
If you’re looking for some fun Valentine’s Day book gifts for your little bookworms, here are some of my favorites.
Related: More Valentine’s Day Books for Adults and Children
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ABCs of Love
Also available from:Learn your ABCs with this adorable board book about love. This sweet story teaches tiny readers words and actions that symbolize the emotion. The charming illustrations and gentle rhyme make it a must-have for Valentine’s Day.
(Ages 0 - 3)Also available from: -
I Love You: A Touch-and-Feel Playbook
Also available from:This interactive board book is the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for babies and toddlers. They’ll love the colorful illustrations, peek-through pages, and touch-and-feel elements throughout the story.
(Ages 0 - 3)Also available from: -
Love Makes a Family
Also available from:This inclusive board book celebrates familial love and is perfect for your baby or toddler this Valentine's Day. Read about all different kinds of families and how they share their love with each other.
(Ages 0 - 3)Also available from: -
Love Is All Around
Also available from:Get ready for warm and fuzzy feelings because this vibrant board book offers plenty. Told through rhyming text and colorful illustrations, a young girl notices how her family expresses devotion to each other throughout the day. Whether they’re sharing a meal or doling out kisses, they do it with love.
(Ages 0 - 3)Also available from: -
That's Me Loving You
Also available from:This sweet, reassuring board book perfectly captures the power of a parent’s love. With soothing rhymes and illustrations of children independently going about their days, the story reminds little readers that no matter where they go, they can find their parents’ love near them: “That feeling you always have in your heart? / That’s me loving you.”
(Ages 0 - 3)Also available from: -
Full, Full, Full of Love
Also available from:This book celebrates the love between extended family members, and particularly between little Jay Jay and his grannie. Sundays at Grannie's house are always full of food, smiling faces, and - most importantly - love.
(Ages 2 - 5)Also available from: -
Together: A First Conversation About Love
Also available from:Children notice all types of love — and have plenty of questions about them. These questions offer a wonderful opportunity to talk to your children about love, relationships, and what they might look like. With simple text and colorful art, this book helps parents have those essential conversations with their children.
(Ages 2 - 5)Also available from: -
I Love You to the Moon and Back
Also available from:Learn how bears show their love in this sweet board book. This gentle, rhyming book follows a bear and cub throughout their day as they splash in the water, climb mountains, and more.
(Ages 2 - 5)Also available from: -
Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Also available from:For any child who has spent the first years of their life obsessed with that caterpillar, this book is perfect for Valentine’s Day, with all the collage images and colors that have made Eric Carle so famous. Bonus idea: Pack it with some tissue paper and let your child make their own Valentine’s Day collages.
(Ages 3 - 5)Also available from: -
Who Will You Be?
Also available from:New parents will love this heartwarming picture book about a mother’s dreams for her child. As she thinks about their family, friends, and neighbors, the mother wonders what values and lessons her child will pick up from each person. It’s a lovely reminder of a community’s impact on a child.
(Ages 3 - 6)Also available from: -
I Love You Every Day
Also available from:While we celebrate love on Valentine’s Day, this sweet picture book shows readers how to enjoy it every day of the year. With its adorable illustrations, die-cut pages, and uplifting message, this picture book makes a fantastic gift.
(Ages 3 - 7)Also available from: -
The Mystery of the Love List
Also available from:The only thing better than a mystery story is one with a secret admirer involved. When Pippa finds an anonymous “love list” with her name on it, she wants to befriend the list’s owner. But she has to find out who wrote it first. Using her budding detective skills, she collects the clues, cracks the case, and makes a new friend.
(Ages 3 - 7)Also available from: -
The House of Love
Also available from:This sweet picture book will make you want to go all-out for Valentine’s Day. Set in the Blue Ridge mountains, this story is about a young girl and her mom who spend the day decorating, baking, and creating a Valentine’s Day celebration for their family. It’s the perfect way to get yourself and your kiddos into the spirit of the holiday.
(Ages 3 - 7)Also available from: -
Together with You
Also available from:This sweet book celebrates the unique bond between a child and their grandparents. In this story, readers follow a grandmother and her grandchild through the four seasons as they spend time together playing, laughing, snuggling, and eating. This highly giftable book makes an excellent read-aloud that grandparents and grandchildren will adore.
(Ages 3 - 7)(On sale: 2/14/2023)
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The Wonderful Things You Will Be
Also available from:I always appreciate a book that has lots of fun things to look at in the illustrations so that every subsequent read feels fresh and new, and this book does just that. At this age, the most important love in a child’s life is their parents, and this book celebrates the strength and length of that special relationship.
(Ages 3 - 7)Also available from: -
Valentine's Day, Here I Come!
Also available from:Everyone knows that poetry goes with Valentine’s Day, and young romantics will adore this charming collection of poems about the holiday. Follow a group of kids as they make cards, eat candy, and celebrate the special day. If you like this book, check out the rest of the Here I Come! series.
(Ages 4 - 6)Also available from: -
My Love for You Is Always
Also available from:Experience love with a family as they cook a traditional Chinese meal. When her child wonders what love feels, tastes, and looks like, a mother uses food to explain that her love for him is endless. This heartwarming story is perfect for fans of Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi and Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
Hair Love
Also available from:In this ode to self-confidence and love between a father and daughter, Zuri's daddy is tasked with giving her an extra-special hair style. But it's not so easy! Her daddy's determination and love shine through in this memorable picture book.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
Love
Also available from:A favorite for baby showers and family libraries, award-winning author Matt de la Peña’s Love — illustrated by the celebrated Loren Long — is a poetic and heartfelt ode to the power of love and the way it shows up in moments big and small, on good days and bad, ultimately connecting us all.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
My Heart
Also available from:This gorgeous picture book is all about hearts – open hearts, closed hearts, broken hearts, and more. Written as a poem about the many emotions a heart can feel, Luyken's message is one of compassion, caring, and self-love. An absolutely lovely book for all ages, even adults.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
Love from the Crayons
Also available from:First, the Crayons quit, and then they fled home. Now, the Crayons are feeling sweetly sentimental (and wouldn’t you, after all that hubbub?). In Love from the Crayons, everyone’s favorite colors are waxing poetic on loving colorfully — and even outside the lines.
(Ages 5 - 8)Also available from:
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More Valentine's Day Reads:
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Llama Llama I Love You
Also available from: Dr. Seuss's Lovey Things
Also available from: The Night Before Valentine's Day
Also available from: I Love You with All My Heart
Also available from: -
Daddy Speaks Love
Also available from: Dear Valentine Letters Mad Libs
Also available from: My Love is All Around
Also available from: -
A Valentine for Uni the Unicorn
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2023.