VALENTINE SURPRISE

For Lily, the week before Valentine’s Day is filled with attempts to make the perfect heart for her Mom. Monday’s is too pointy, though, so she hides it under the bed. It is quickly joined by Tuesday’s (too round), Wednesday’s (too square), Thursday’s (too curvy), Friday’s (too skinny) and Saturday’s (too fat). Sunday is Valentine’s Day—the day of the lopsided heart and the last of the paper. Undaunted, Lily sets to work with some tape. Her Mom doesn’t care that they are imperfect, since the heart inside Lily is perfect. A foldout page displays Lily’s creation: Strung together, the hearts spell “Love you.” With its subtle teaching of days and shapes, this is one that teachers will reach for each February. Alley’s Lily has a face for all her feelings and actions—hopeful, disappointed, concentrating and working hard. Readers can only hope that the closing illustration hints to a future St. Patrick’s Day outing with Lily. Lily’s solution is a salute to creativity, ingenuity and thinking outside the box; it will have all parents cheering her efforts and hoping that their own child takes a page from her book. (Picture book. 3-6)