Who Will Be My Valentine This Year?

by Jerry Pallotta, David Biedrzycki (Illustrator)

Overview

A Valentine's Day story about finding your own special sweetheart.

Tomorrow is February 14th and Hippo is looking for a valentine, but all of the animals she asks-Leopard, Dolphin, Butterfly, Elephant and more-give reasons as to why they aren't good matches for her. Will Hippo have to celebrate Valentine's Day alone?

Jerry Pallotta and David Biedrzycki team up again in this humorous story that's as giggle-inducing as their previous holiday offerings!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545235181
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	12/01/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD150L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jerry Pallotta is an award-winning author of children's books, including WHO WILL GUIDE MY SLEIGH TONIGHT?, APPLE FRACTIONS, and THE HERSHEY'S MILK CHOCOLATE MULTIPLICATION BOOK. His combination of interesting facts, detailed research, humor, and realistic illustrations have mesmerized countless children across the United States. You can visit him at www.jerrypallotta.com.

David Biedrzycki is the illustrator of many books for children, including WHO WILL HELP SANTA THIS YEAR? and WHO WILL HAUNT MY HOUSE ON HALLOWEEN? He lives in Boston with his wife, Kathy. They have three children: Justin, Alec, and Julia. You can visit him at www.davidbiedrzycki.com.

Editorial Reviews

It's February 13, and a very large pink hippo is looking for a valentine. Despite her self-assessment that she has "a pretty face and a beautiful smile," she has trouble getting any of the other animals to accept her desperately eager, repeated invitation: "Will you be my valentine?" Each animal refuses for some trumped-up reason unrelated to their species difference. For example, the leopard rejects her with the lame excuse, "No way! I drive a car. You ride a bike," and the dolphin insists, "No! I wear a watch. You don't even know the time!" Just as the story is becoming almost unbearably depressing, Hippo arrives at a surprise party where she learns that all the other animals were "only kidding." They tell her that "It's fun being different. We will all be your valentine." But the sudden, preachy turn-around allegedly celebrating the value of difference comes too late to redeem the cruelty of what has preceded it. And readers clearly are expected to chuckle at Hippo's deluded belief that someone so obese and Pepto-Bismol pink is pretty and appealing. This glib mass-market package mainly gives us reason to question why Valentine's Day was ever considered to be such a great idea, anyway. Reviewer: Claudia Mills, Ph.D.

Children's Literature - Claudia Mills

PreS—A large pink hippo asks several neighbors if they would like to be her valentine. In a series of spreads, each animal replies with an excuse that relates how the two are not alike. But in the end, they welcome her to a Valentine's Day party, saying that they were only kidding. "It's fun being different. We all want to be your valentine!" The 12 short exchanges between Hippo and her would-be valentines mention various dissimilarities, but these reasons don't quite make sense. For example, Frog's answer to "Will you be my valentine?" is "No! I use e-mail. You send postcards." Biedrzycki's bright pictures try to add some whimsy to the slight text but also seem to miss the mark. An especially curious illustration is of Hippo, unadorned except for the bow on her head, speaking to a dolphin that is standing in the water wearing a shirt, tie, and vest and carrying a pocket watch. With so many better holiday books available, pass on this one.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

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