Mouse and Mole, Secret Valentine

K-Gr 2—Mouse lists friends to make cards for for Valentine's Day, realizes that Mole is her best friend, and gets "a funny feeling inside-like butterflies in her stomach." As Mole takes out art supplies, he thinks, "Valentine's Day is about love" and experiences "butterflies in his stomach" and a flushed face. Mole teaches Mouse how to cut a heart shape from paper and enhance letters with glue and glitter, and Mouse writes words on the cards. While she receives anonymous valentines and wonders who sent them, she wishes that Mole would ask her to the Valentine's Day dance. She discovers an invitation that someone has placed beneath rose petals in a box of chocolates, asking her to be at the party at four. When she arrives, she discovers that Mole is her "secret valentine," and "together, they stepped out onto the dance floor." Detailed pencil and gouache illustrations set the stage and capture the action. Directions for making a valentine are included. This heartwarming, early chapter book unfolds with perfect pacing, and every word advances the plot, provides information, or delivers humor. A delightful addition.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI