We love to read to our students, but they are in grades four and five, so we try to avoid books about romance when we look for Valentine’s Day books, but sometimes it just sneaks in. Quite often, the books are too young for our students, but when that happens, we encourage our students to read to their younger buddies. Come read through this list of Valentine’s Day books we’ve collected over the years.
Read-Alouds Can Be Valuable
Reading is for everyone. Students (even older ones) love to be read to. If this weren’t true, there wouldn’t be an audiobook industry. Some people look at reading to students as a waste of time, and there are even administrators out there who don’t want teachers reading to their students. What?! That seems crazy!
Reading to students is modelling what it means to be a confident reader, and it should be an important part of your language arts lessons. But if you’re just reading a book to a bunch of passive students, you’re missing out on all the benefits. If you’re looking for ways to engage readers while you read aloud, check out our post, 15 Ways to Engage Readers During Your Read-Aloud.
We don’t include links to books, but we hope you’ll support your local bookstore.
The best part about Valentine’s Day books is that they lend themselves well to talking about feelings and emotions. In upper elementary, students start to develop crushes, so it’s possible to assure them it’s normal. These types of books become very useful as you teach students to self-regulate. To learn more, read our post, How to Teach Students to Self-Regulate.
Valentine’s Day Books for Younger Students
While these books might be better for the younger crowd, they are perfect for some buddy reading.
Love Is My Favorite Thing by Emma Chichester Clark
The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting and Jan Brett
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek
You Are My Happy by Hoda Kotb
I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey
I Love You More Than by Taye Diggs and Shane W. Evans
You Loves Ewe! by Cece Bell
If Animals Said I Love You by Ann Whitford Paul and David Walker
Big Shark’s Valentine Surprise by Steve Metzger
Looking for a Twist on a Book?
We love drama circles! They provide students with the opportunity to listen, read with fluency and expression and have some fun. We tend to focus on kindness around Valentine’s Day, so this Kindness Drama Circle is perfect. If you’re already a ninja, you can find it in the Resource Library. If you’re not on our email list yet, we can send it directly to your inbox.
Picture Books That Work for Upper Elementary
Love from the Crayons by Drew Daywalt
The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise and Lucy Ruth Cummins
Love, Z by Jessie Sima
Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman and Jay Fleck
What Is Love? by Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis
Viking in Love by Doug Cenko
When I’m With You by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler
Porcupine Cupid by Jason June and Lori Richmond
Group Hug by Jean Reidy and Joey Chou
With Lots of Love by Jenny Torres Sanchez and André Ceolin
Because You’re Mine by Nancy Tillman
Caveboy Crush by Beth Ferry and Joseph Kuefler
Love by Matt de la Peña and Loren Long
My Heart by Corinna Luyken
This Is Not a Valentine by Carter Higgins and Lucy Ruth Cummins
I Love You Already by Jory John and Benji Davies
Looking for More Valentine’s Day Activities?
We’ve written a few other posts full of activities you can use. These are especially great if you’re looking to avoid a party but still want to celebrate your students. These posts have art lessons, busy work, and some ideas to make the day a little less chaotic.
9 Easy Valentine’s Day Ideas for Upper Elementary
Heart Art Projects You’ll Love
How to Make Valentine’s Day Love Trees
We wrote four mystery stories with a Valentine’s Day theme as part of our Valentine’s Day Word Games and Puzzles set. You can find the whole set in our TpT Store ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Are you looking for other book lists?
- Books For and About Powerful Women
- Black History Books You Should Use All Year
- How to Celebrate Asian Heritage Month in Canada
- Easy to Use Classroom Activities for Earth Day
- Quick and Colourful Activities for Holi the Festival of Colours
- Christmas Books We Love
- Picture Books for Lunar New Year
- Memorable Books for Remembrance Day in Canada
- Activities for Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters
- Your Big List of Must Have Books for Ramadan and Eid
- How to Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day
- Being Thankful in the Classroom
What other books do you like to use around Valentine’s Day? We’d love to add to our list. If you have a suggestion, please add it in the comments below.
