Valentines for All: Esther Howland Captures America’s Heart

This sunny historical biography traces the tradition of exchanging valentines in the U.S. back to the 19th century, and the kind heart of papercraft pioneer Esther Howland (1828–1904), who made the cards long before it was fashionable. Inspired by a lace-trimmed card that her father brought from England, she brought the custom into vogue stateside when she was just 19, persuading her father and skeptical brothers to sell her valentines through the family’s Massachusetts paper company, and engaging an assembly line of friends to help meet demand. Simplistic poems (“Roses are red. Petunias are pink. Cutting and gluing helps me think”) accompany Chumin’s reportorial storytelling, while Wis´niewska’s period-garb-clad characters, portrayed with various skin tones, give the figures a doll-like feel. An invitation to write valentine poems concludes. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)