The Best Children’s Books About Love

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There are oodles and oodles of books about love, and as Valentine’s Day approaches, we set out to find our favorites. Our criteria? For the most part, it was the same as the criteria for our other book picks: well-written stories that engage children, pictures that captivate, and words that stand up to repeated readings. But for books about love, there was one more requirement: they had to be stories that didn’t tip into the trap of being overly-sentimental. This meant best-sellers like Love You Forever don’t appear on our list!
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Instead, we include books that look at love through several different lenses. From a mother’s love for her child to a robot’s quest for the meaning of love, we found five delightful pictures books that will captivate your grandchildren as you read them over and over. And over!

The Best Picture Books About Love

Mama, Do You Love Me?
​by Barbara M. Joosse 
Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee

​I was delighted to see this book is still in print. The beautiful illustrations of the mother and child in the Arctic accompany a story that my children loved to hear over and over. As the child tests a mother’s love, both the character and the children listening learn that a parent’s love is unconditional and everlasting. I don’t think I’ve ever read it without a bit of a catch in my throat while reciting the lyrical words.
Get your copy now.

Viking in Love
​by Doug Cenko 

​This sweet, funny story stood up to the ultimate test: repeated requests for reading by a three-year-old. The words and story are simple, the pictures are engaging, and it has adorable kittens in a key role. The message about the power of love is straightforward enough for the youngest reader to grasp, without being overly sentimental or mushy.
​Send a copy to your grands today.

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
​by Eileen Spinelli 
Illustrated by Paul Yalowitz
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​Love can change everything for someone, as the lonely Mr. Hatch discovers one Valentine’s Day. I read this one aloud at least eight times in a three-day period, and enjoyed it each time. It was the five-year-old who requested it each time, but her seven-year-old brother enjoyed it just as much! The detailed pictures gave them lots to pour over as I read the charming story of Mr. Hatch’s brush with a secret admirer.
Click here to get a copy to read to your grands.

Love, Z
by Jessie Sima 

​When Robot Z finds a bottle with a message in it, he struggles to understand what it means. “Love, Beatrice,” the message says. He sets out to find out what love is. And who is Beatrice? Like the best of hero quests, he journeys long and far to find the answers. With charming drawings and a story that will help even the youngest understand that love is something hard to define, but easy to feel. Sure to be a favorite with your grands!
Send them a copy today.

Love Grows Everywhere,
​by Barry Timms and Tisha Lee 

​With simple, rhyming text and rich, colorful drawings, love of all kinds is explored and celebrated. Helping a friend move? That’s love. Planting a garden? That’s love, too. Full of examples of kindness and caring, the lush, plant filled pictures are worth pouring over. It was declared the favorite of the five-year-old, “Because I love plants.”
​Buy it now on Amazon.

​The Best Board Books About Love

It was much harder to find board books we could recommend. The bookstore is full of brightly colored, Valentine-themed board books with familiar characters, but none of them passed our test for quality of story. We kept looking though, and the ones below are worth buying for your young grandchildren.

Tiny T. Rex and the Perfect Valentine
​by Jonathan Stutzman 
​Illustrated by Jay Fleck
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A simple story that will especially appeal to toddler grandchildren. Tiny T. Rex is frustrated when he tries to create a Valentine for his friend, but finally discovers the perfect way to express his love. Bright illustrations and easy to understand words make it a hit with the under-fours.
Buy it now on Amazon.

The Runaway Bunny
​by Margaret Wise Brown 
​Illustrated by Clement Hurd
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This classic book endures for a simple reason: children love the story of the baby bunny whose mother will go to any lengths necessary to show her love. While most picture books don’t translate well to board books, this one is an exception.
​Buy a copy for your grand today.

I’ll Love You Till The Cows Come Home
​by Kathryn Cristaldi 
Illustrated by Kristyna Litten
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This delightful story is another picture book that works as a board book. The illustrations and warm but silly words will captivate your grandchild and stand up to repeated readings. With rich vocabulary and fascinating pictures, this book will stay in the family library past the toddler stage.
Buy it on Amazon.

How Many Do I Love You?
​by Cheri Love-Byrd  
Illustrated by Mei Støyva

The alliteration in this counting book about love will delight both your grandchild and whomever gets to read to them. The colorful illustrations make it a doubly appealing.
Get your copy here.

How Do You Say I Love You
​by Hannah Elliott
Illustrated by Shirley Ng-Benitez 

The charming illustrations and bouncy rhymes will captivate the youngest readers as you explore how to say “I love you” in ten different languages. I love this book for the way it introduces the idea of diverse ways to communicate the universal sentiment. It includes a pronunciation guide for readers who may not be able to roll off all ten languages!
Send a copy to your grandbaby today.

Do you have a favorite that we missed? Let us know in the comments!