Love, Ruby Valentine

November 1, 2006
K-Gr 4-Ruby Valentine and her pet cockatoo live in a cottage with heart-shaped trees outside. During the countdown to Valentines Day, they make glittery cards, bake heart-shaped cookies and cakes, and prepare goody bags tied up with red bows. The day before the celebration, Ruby and Lovebird fill up their red wagon, ready to distribute gifts to all the townspeople. Before turning in, the hopeless romantic makes a huge heart-shaped sign that reads, Love, Ruby Valentine and places it high on the wagon. Everything is ready. Then, after all of their hard work, the child and her pet sleep through the big day. At Lovebirds urging, she pulls her wagon through town, delivering her gifts anyway. In the town square, Ruby stands atop an equestrian statue and apologizes for being late. The townspeople thank and hug her for being so kind and for turning an ordinary day into a celebration. Ruby realizes that you dont have to wait until Valentines Day to say I love you! The mainly pastel watercolor-and-collage illustrations are full of humor and convey Rubys joy and industriousness. This story, told in rhyme, should take a prominent place on Valentines Day bookshelves."Linda Staskus, Parma Regional Library, OH"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 9, 2006
The eponymous heroine learns the real meaning of a certain February holiday in this fluffy tale. Ruby Valentine (a resident of Heartland and owner of a cockatoo named Lovebird) has her epiphany after devoting a week to making a wagonload of heart-shaped cards, cookies and cakes to distribute around town on February 14th. But her labors so exhaust her that she accidentally sleeps through the holiday. When she abjectly hands out her tokens of affection on February 15th, however, Friedman (A Style All Her Own
) points out that, "no one seemed to mind!/ They just thanked and hugged her/ for being sweet and kind." The next spread delivers the moral: "Saying,/ 'I love you!'/ doesn't have to wait 'til Valentine's—/ any day will do." With her red topknot and a perpetual spring in her step, Ruby is the very definition of spunk, and it seems almost cranky to quibble with the sunny energy and cheery, greeting card–esque sentiment in Cravath's (The Two Sillies
) watercolor-and-ink drawings. Yet the illustrator does nothing to convey any kind of seasonal feel; in these pages, Valentine's Day seems to fall somewhere around Memorial Day. Youngsters who identify with the overachieving heroine, however, will cheer her discovery of a way to expand her passions all year long. Ages 4-8.