7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Lesson Set During Valentine's Day, February 7, 2009
This review is from: The Biggest Valentine Ever (Paperback)
This is a nice little story for children about working together, that is set nicely during Valentine's Day. Two little boys start to create a valentine for their teacher, but begin to fight about what the other did "wrong" and decide to go it alone. But when they aren't really happy with their solo results either, they decide to give it another go together.
The ultimate message is that while working together sometimes means not having things exactly the way you would have done it, it also means being able to use one another's strengths and talents to make something better than either would be able to create alone. And what they end up creating is bigger and better than either of them would have conceived of on their own.
The story itself is pretty simplistic and the message is very accessible for young school-aged children. Probably best for preschool-age and older as a read-to-me book, or a good early reader book (probably 2nd grade level and up) to read alone.
The illustrations are nice -- nothing spectacular or memorable as a standalone effort, but they tell the story well. I like that the little boys show no issues with using pink hearts and glitter as befits Valentine's Day -- no needless attempt to have them make a "boy" valentine. They even dress their final attempt with lace doily. :-) That does a nice job at making this book accessible for both boys and girls.
The only thing that strikes me as a bit odd is the first page of the book, which says "Once there were two mice who fell in love with the same valentine, but it didn't start out that way." I don't really see what that has to do with the rest of the story and it doesn't really make sense (I've tried to relate it, to no avail), but it doesn't bother me that much, because I had forgotten about it by the end of the story.
Overall, I think this is a nice read for a home story, or for a classroom read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kindergarten students love it!, February 14, 2011
This review is from: The Biggest Valentine Ever (Paperback)
During February we talk about friendship in my kindergarten class. We brainstorm ways we can be a good friend, how to talk to one another and how friends should work together nicely and cooperatively. This book ties in PERFECTLY! It addresses all the above mentioned concepts of friendship and is general, a very sweet story. My students loved it and wanted repeat readings of it. You will not be disappointed in this story. Due to the length/friendship conflict I would recommend it for ages 4 and up.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good- non-tv character holiday book., January 18, 2010
This review is from: The Biggest Valentine Ever (Paperback)
I like this book because the story and illustrations are cute, but most of all because it isn't just a television character holiday book. I think it has more staying power.
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