Customer Reviews

The Legend of the Valentine: An Inspirational Story of Love and Reconciliation

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Engagingly written by Katherine Grace Bond and impressively illustrated by Don Tate, The Legend Of The Valentine: An Inspirational Story Of Love And Reconciliation Is A Thoughtful, Christian picturebook recommended for children ages 4-8. The story is about a young boy, Marcus, whose daddy is in jail and who gets teased by kids at school because his skin is dark, a different color from theirs. Marcus doesn't see much use in celebrating Valentine's Day, until his granny tells him the story of Saint Valentine - a man who was thrown in jail, yet who refused to recant his faith in Jesus Christ. The Legend Of The Valentine is at its core deeply powerful story about loving one's enemies.

Katherine Grace Bond's talent shines through the deceptively simple prose of this heartfelt, authentic-feeling story. Other reviewers have already posted the general story line. I just want to add that many books in the Christian kids' market drip with saccharine and go for a forced sunny ending; this book is a refreshing exception that will help you open a healthy, substantive, character-building discussion with a pre-teen you love. The combined efforts of a white author and a black illustrator speak convincingly not merely to the issue of race, but also to the core issue of what happens when you love your enemies. A small gem of a book.

I bought one copy of the board version of the book and loved it. I promptly ordered 10 more copies and several copies of the hardcover book for the children in my church. The hardcover has more text and is even better than the board book. Both books talk about Christ; saint Valentine - who was a Christian who suffered in jail, but blessed and converted his jailers- about the civil rights movement and peaceful resistance, about familiy values and closeness, and EVEN ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH A SCHOOL BULLY. Its main message is that we should not fight evil with evil, but should bless our enemies. At the last page, Marcus, the boy in the story, stretches out his hand and asks the class bully to accept his friendship. It reminded me of Christ's call to humanity to accept Him and his salvation... it's up to each person to accept. I highly recommend the book, either version.

I love this book because it presents a powerful message in a simple, unsentimental way. The illustrations are amazing -- I'm partial because my daughter and ex-husband were models for several of the illustrations that appear in the book! So thank you, Don Tate. You did a wonderful job, as did the author. A beautiful story about something most of us have a hard time doing: loving our enemies.

simply beautiful, both visually and linguistically...powerful meaning as well...I recommend it highly.

A really fine story, not a word out of place, and ending in just the right way and at just the right moment. And great illustrations. The book, though listed as out-of-print, is still available from the author's web site --[...]-- at $15 a copy plus postage.

I read this book to my students every year. It is a story about love, judging one another by the size of their hearts, not the color of their skin, and Jesus and His amazing mercy and grace. Fabulous story!!

My family loves this book. It's a wonderful blending of the story of St. Valentine and the struggle for racial equality today. The children and situations in the story are believeable and real. They provide a great premise for discussing predjudice with my children while also learning how the sacrificial love demonstrated by St. Valentine can apply to life situations today. We liked this book so much that when our first copy got accidentally destroyed, we hunted down another through Amazon.com to replace it.

While I agree with all that has been said on the this page about this book, I have to add that it would be appropriate for all elementary and even junior high school students as it deals with the issues of race and racial reconciliation in a powerful way.