Sweetheart for Valentine Book

When a large baby in a large basket is left on the steps of the St. Valentine village hall, the villagers decide that she will belong to all of them and they name her ...

Mildren Hart - Children's Literature

Replete with the repetition so dear to children, this is the story of the small people in the small village of St. Valentine who are awakened one morning by a loud howling noise. Villagers scurry from all directions to the town hall where they find a large basket. In the basket, wrapped in a large blanket is a "red-faced howling baby girl." Since she belongs to no one she belongs to everyone and is named Valentine. As Valentine grows she becomes larger than "her one great-grandfather, three great-grandmothers, six grandfathers, seven grandmothers, eleven fathers, eleven mothers and more brothers and sisters than anyone had ever counted." With every crisis in Valentine's life great-grandfather calls a special meeting and each action decided upon is followed by "So they did." When Valentine outgrows all the clothes in the village a dress is sown, when Valentine needs a house of her own a house is built; but, when Valentine needs a sweetheart no one is big enough to carry her off. The village is flooded with her tears! The problem is solved on February 14th after great-grandfather calls a special meeting, and declares that February 14th would be celebrated as Valentine's Day from then on. "And so they did." This delightful fun-filled story can be enjoyed when shared with a group, but the intricate illustrations demand individual inspection to discover the hilarious details in each picture. This is, indeed, truly a "sweetheart" of a book. 2005, Star Bright Books, Ages 4 to 8.