If it's corny, mushy than it's made for Saint Valentine's Day, right? It's all about the cute little cupids, the frilly hearts that say I luv you and every nauseating thing that comes to mind. Today is not the day to quibble over little things such as defining love or was there really a Saint Valentine? Nope, the is not the purpose of this day. The whole idea of this holiday is to receive or send a note as an expression of one's love for another. Is it true love? Is it the eternal love that never ends? Sometimes, but it doesn't have to be. Besides, those notes of undying love are tales for another time and other books.
This holiday can be fun for the young not so serious or ready for lovey, mushy stuff. it can be a holiday that is the exact opposite of serious love. What would that be? The funny, punny silly kind of love. The type that two friends share and giggle over the same jokes because they see eye to eye on everything. Well, almost everything. There will always be a time and place for the serious love books like Guess How Much I Love You that reassures little ones of the unconditional love of a parent. Make room for the silly titles that will make everyone smile brighter.
The perfect, silly, and wonderful anti-Valentine's book A Crankenstein Valentine by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Dan Santat is highly recommended for children of all ages. This book is cute, without being nauseating. The tale is about Crankenstein who says YECH to everything from roses to the Valentine's Day Play, which no one asked if he wanted to be in it. If he had his choice, the play would go on but without HIM! The only thing that could possibly make this day "okay" is finding a friend who feels the exact same way that he does about this nauseating, PU holiday. Just for added clarification, add an EWWWWW to that and it would complete how utterly awful this day is to Crankenstein. Fortunately for him the next Valentine's day is only 364 days away.
The author illustrated match up here is perfect. It should be a sure hit with cranky little cupids who hate February 14th. This tale leads perfectly to writing creative little anti-Valentine's that are not too mean but let's off a bit of steam. Make heart shape valentines with construction paper color of one's choice, even black if that is so desired. Then pen a little poem like ...
Rose are Red,
this is true
But Violets are a hue
of purple not blue
This may sound unkind,
me thinks you are color blind
Roses Are Red,
My socks are blue
they really are stinky
would you like to smell them too?
The possibilities are endless and the funny bone should be tickled at least once or twice during while creating the perfect "letting off steam" Valentine. There are other titles that can make the anti-Valentine's day special such as The Man who Stretched Valentine's Day by Watler Hoffman or This Is Not A Valentine by Carter Higgins. Perhaps, going old school is the best place to start. This may be the very first children's valentine book (at least it was my first as a kid) Charles Schulz classic It's Valentine's Day Charlie Brown. Although it has a happy ending, everyone can relate to hoping for that one Valentine's day card from that special person. It just may be that Crankenstein was looking for that perfect Valentine from the one who understood him best! Lucky for him, he got a cranky Valentine too! Here's hoping that a cranky valentine finds a way into your holiday and brightens the day!
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