10 Valentine Friends: A Holiday Counting Book

Fourth in Davick and the late Schulman’s holiday-themed series of counting books, this outing focuses on 10 children’s Valentine’s Day preparations. In each scene, a child creates a personalized valentine for one of his or her friends: “Tom likes to pretend to be a gorilla. Guess what he gets from his neighbor Priscilla./ Annie Lee knows how Pete likes bugs./ He’ll really dig her squishy slugs!” The valentines are collected on the right side of each spread, while the kids busy themselves making cards, decorating a house with streamers and balloons, and enjoying party food. The bright, eye-catching spreads offer ample details for readers to explore, and the upbeat rhymes (and the emphasis on tailor-made gifts) should help get them in the mood for some craft projects of their own. Ages 3–8. (Dec.)