Mouse and Mole: Secret Valentine

In their seventh outing, Mouse and Mole are seriously in love, even if Mouse doesn’t know it yet. When Mouse receives a “secret valentine,” her head is so much in the clouds that she walks into a lamppost. And she’s so busy trying to determine the identity of her admirer that she doesn’t pay attention to the butterflies she feels whenever she’s with Mole. After a romantic dinner and a rendezvous befitting a rom-com, the two animals seal their love with a dance. Yee creates a punchy story arc over the story’s four chapters and charming pencil and gouache spot illustrations. This romp of an early reader acknowledges that a first crush can feel every bit as momentous as a more long-term love. Ages 6–9. (Dec.)