In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m spreading some love with this month’s picture book favorites. From books whose characters include a little hedgehog and his mom, a young owl and his Grammy, a lonely porcupine, and a pair of silly spaghetti eating monkeys, love is shared and explained in ways that will both warm your heart and make you laugh. Enjoy!

“Love You Always” written by Frances Stickley and illustrated by Migy Blanco (Copyright 2019, Random House Children’s Books. Originally published by Nosy Crow Ltd.) is the story of little Hedgie the hedgehog and his mommy, who are taking a walk and sharing a conversation about the enduring love of a mother for her little one. After asking many questions, little Hedgie learns that “as long as skies are high above . . . there’s one thing that will never change, and that’s love.” Busy, color-filled illustrations are the perfect complement to this sweet rhyming story.

“Love is Kind” written by Laura Sassi and illustrated by Lison Chaperon (Copyright 2018, Zonderkidz) follows Little Owl as he struggles to find a way to buy his Grammy a heart-shaped box of chocolates for her birthday. With each encounter, he shares by example the attributes of love as found in 1 Corinthians 13 of the Bible. At the end of his day, when all his attempts have failed, his Grammy explains to him that the love he shared with others along the way was a better gift to her than any chocolates would have been. Children will likely relate to the many feelings and choices Little Owl makes as the kid-friendly illustrations help to tell the story.

“Elmore” written and illustrated by Holly Hobbie (Copyright 2018, Random House Children’s Books) is a beautifully illustrated story about a porcupine named Elmore who lives by himself and has trouble making friends because of his quills. After a visit from a wise old uncle, Elmore decides to give away some of his treasured quills to the other animals, suggesting they use them to write notes to their friends. In return, the animals appreciate Elmore, quills and all, and share the love found between friends through the notes they send him.

One of my favorites from years gone by…

“More Spaghetti I Say!” written by Rita Golden Gelman and illustrated by Jack Kent (Copyright 1977, Scholastic, Inc.) is laugh out loud fun. When Freddy wants to play, Minnie is too busy eating spaghetti. When Minnie has had too much spaghetti and begins to feel sick, Freddy takes her spaghetti away and soon discovers that he loves it too. This sweet, silly story, told in rhyming verse with simple illustrations, is a cautionary tale about the love of good food and the patience of a good friend. It was updated by Scholastic in 1992 as a Hello Reader! book with new illustrations by Mort Gerberg, but I still treasure my original copy from 1977. A note of advice . . . read it aloud, with feeling, to a child or to yourself, and try not to laugh.

Happy Valentine’s Day!