from our bookshelf to yours.

happy day before friday friends! below is a list of our favorite books on love for the month of february. i usually will try and rotate out books on lulu's ledges each month, and these are his current faves on rotate. 

1:: romeo & juliet by jennifer adams. first off, we are huge fans of jen adams' baby lit series over here. she has an entire series of board books dedicated to priming children who are learning colors, numbers, sounds, etc. romeo & juliet is a counting primer and has the most adorable illustrations by alison oliver. i'm not quite sure if we're reading this for the romance (it being february) or because luca just likes to do his favorite things over & over & over. he likes r & j and so we keep reading r & j. the english literature nerd in me isn't complaining. i'm also happy L isn't allll miles after all. he's a little book lover & i'm over the moon about that. the book gives a brief overview of the classic romantic tragedy but leaves the unfortunate ending up to imagination. the book signs off with the classic line, "parting is such sweet sorrow"--and the author leaves it at that, because let's be real, two lovers killing themselves by drinking poison and taking a sword through the chest because they cannot live to be apart is a little much for a small child. overall, great series, and a perfect classic to read during this month of love.

2:: love you forever by robert munsch. if you have not read "love you forever," and you are a parent, drop what you're doing and get yourself a copy now...i should also mention you will need a box of kleenex to with you or your pages will become crinkled from dried up tears (i may or may not have had this issue in our previous copy). i cannot read this book without ugly crying my eyes out & luca just becomes puzzled as to why i am hyperventilating my way over each word towards the end. our copy is "loved" to say the very least. my mom used to read it to me as a child and now i'm reading to my baby & it's bittersweet. i used to crawl into lu's crib with him when he was a baby to help him fall asleep & despite miles telling me i was totally breaking the crib's weight restriction, i used to think of myself as the mother in the book. i'd whisper to my chunkiest little L, "i'll love you forever, i'll like you for always, as long as i'm living, my baby you'll be." i'm about to cry now!!! but i digress, this is a great book about unconditional love and a parent's love for their child, what more could you ask for in children's literature?!?!

3:: wherever you are: my love will find you by nancy tillman. you may know tillman for her most known children's work, "on the night you were born," but i personally like this one better. i like her beautiful rhyme schemes and even more so i like the themes she presents. it's a perfect bedtime book & luca loves the romantic illustrations. he growls like a bear every time he sees the cover!

4:: the day it rained hearts by felicia bond. luca loves the little girl in this story. her name is cornelia agustus and L is enamored by cornelia's dotted eyes. one day it rains hearts and cornelia catches them, crafts them, and sends them off to special friends. L seems to only be interested in the part where it rains hearts and after that the book must be closed and put away, so i had to read the ending one day during nap time because the suspense was killing me!

5:: somebody loves you mr. hatch by eileen spinelli. this is a big favorite of ours right now. i'm not sure how, but lu actually sits still through most of it. hands down, best v-day book of all time! i randomly ordered this one off amazon because i thought the title was cute, and low and behold, i hit a pot of gold. i've been recommending it to all of my friends with children & when i tell anyone the gist of the story, they all respond "awwww." mr. hatch is a man with a mediocre life and he's stuck in his humdrum routine until one day he receives a package from mr goober the postman with a note saying "somebody loves you." the note has no signature and so mr. hatch spends the rest of his valentine's day in search of his secret admirer. you'll be surprised at what he finds in his journey and even more pleased with how it ends. L always paints me with kisses at the end and to be honest, i'd read it a million more times just for that. but really, this is a must read!

love is such a wonderful theme & i love celebrating love all year, but especially during the month of february when it seems to be everywhere. what are your favorite children's books on love? do you have any "must read" books on your list? please comment & share! we are so close to friday i can almost taste the weekend! and better yet, no work on monday! thank you president's day, and thanks for reading!