30 of the best Valentine's Day books for kids ages 1 - 18

Cupcakes and candy come and go, flowers whither and die. If you're looking for the best Valentine's Day gift for kids of any age, you need this awesome list of Valentine's Day books that will make their hearts flutter.

Every year since my girls were itty bitty, they've found a book wrapped up in pink and red heart paper waiting for them at the dinner table during our family celebration. We started with simple board books and moved on to picture books but as my girls get older I've had to get more clever with the Valentine's Day books I pick. 

I pulled some of the best Valentine's Day books for kids from the picture book stage through chapter books for the tween stage and even into the teen years. (Some of these would make an awesome Valentine gift for yourself, even!) Recognize any favorites here?

The Best List of Valentine's Day Books for Kids of All Ages:

Valentine's Day Picture Books:

Don't underestimate the power of an awesome picture book for older kids. My fifth grader still loves to receive these as a thoughtful gift and I plan to keep giving them to her as long as I can. The key is to pick a beautifully illustrated one with a clever message. Not just any Valentine's Day picture book will do.

But even Big Kids enjoy being reminded they'll always be your little sweetie. In fact, wrap one up and send it to your college student with a gift card to Starbucks tucked inside so they can go get a cake pop and a latte. I promise it will make their day.

• The Secret Life of Squirrels: This was the Valentine's Day book I gave my youngest last year. The laughter that came out of both girls when reading it is unlike anything I've ever heard. The first word that comes to mind is DELIGHTFUL.
• In My Heart: A book about feelings with pretty heart cut-outs that layer throughout the book.
• Plant a Kiss: From beloved author Amy Krouse Rosenthal, spread kindness like confetti!
• Love from the Very Hungry Caterpillar: For the illustrations alone, this one is lovely.
• Hedgehugs: All three of us adore the illustrations and adorable little hedgehogs here.
• Not Quite Narwhal: A unicorn thinks he's a narwhal. It's a phenomenal story.
• Dragons Love Tacos: Perfect for both boys and girls, we are obsessed with this one.
• Hug Machine: We were smitten with the sweet boy from this tale.
• Love Is: This is a new to me title that is making the cut this year. The illustrations are lovely.

Valentine's Day Books for Early Readers:

Easy chapter books for early readers is one of the simplest places to find sweet Valentine's Day books for kids. Most series have one in the mix. 

• Juliet the Valentine Fairy: From the candy fairy series, Little Pea will swoon when she gets this book this year.
• Ellie's Lovely Idea, The Critter Club: Super cute for animal-lovers.
• The Big Bad Fox: A graphic novel about how a fox is loved by the farm animals. Little Pea is obsessed with this book right now and brought it in to class show-and-tell.
• Amelia Bedelia Ties the Knot: A cute flower girl wedding story.
• Looking for Winston, A Sophie Mouse Story: Focuses on love between siblings.
• Junie B. My Velentim: From the Junie B Jones series.
• Cam Jansen and the Valentine Baby Mystery: For mystery lovers.

Valentine's Day Books for Tweens:

When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of fairy tale stories and adventure. For Tweens, you can do simple romantic crush books or mix it up with something a little more whimsical. Whether your sweetheart is a boy or a girl, you're sure to find the perfect Valentine's Day book gift here:

• Pugs and Kisses: The cover alone caught my eye. That pug! LOL!
• Alice in Wonderland, illustrated by Anna Bond: We own this edition and the illustrations are lovely. Queen of Hearts is just right for Valentine's!
• Matilda: A girl and her love of books. A true romance, in my opinion.
• The Candymakers: A fun spin on the candy theme of the holiday.
• Peter and the Starcatchers: A prequel to the Peter Pan tale as we know it.
• The Magic Misfits: By Neil Patrick Harris, a story about friends and magic.
• The Wishing Spell; The Land of Stories: The Peanut (age 10) would be first to recommend this to you. She loved the series. 
• Flunked: The first in the Fairy Tale Reform School series.
• Cake Pop Crush: Author Suzanne Nelson has an entire line of books with adorable names and graphic covers. You could pick any one of them for a sweet reading treat.

Valentine's Day Books for Teens (and their moms!):

My girls aren't teens yet but I've recently rediscovered my love of the YA genre. (You can read about my lighthearted palette cleanser list of books here.) When my girls are old enough, I would absolutely consider giving them these romantic reads as a Valentine's Day gift. I'd also sneak the copy right back from them and read it so we could chat about it together! Or better yet, as your gift tell her you'd like to form a mom-daughter book club and let her pick the next one!

• Everything, Everything: Read the book and then watch the movie together. Great mom-daughter discussion material here.
• Love & Gelato: Light and sweet, who could resist?
• Fangirl, special edition: The pink cover of this one makes it especially festive.
• The Selection: I devoured this in 24 hours and it made my heart go pitter patter.
• Windy City Magic: Magical romance, my favorite kind!
• Cinder: A futuristic cyborg romance. For the more sci-fi fantasy girls among us. I'm on book 2 now! 
• Pride & Prejudice, Word Cloud Classics: The teen years are the perfect age to introduce this classic. I found the perfect edition for Valentine's Day with a red cover and word cloud design. 

I love to celebrate the holidays with my kids in unique and special ways. Books have always been a part of that experience. My hope is my girls will love reading and learning the way I do and that they will have fond memories of the stories we shared together.

If you'd like more fun ideas for celebrating the seasons with your families and more book recommendations for both YOU and your kids, be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter:

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Hope to chat with you soon!