They'll have their hearts in it

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - While Valentine's Day causes angst for many grown-ups, it makes the top-five holiday list for most kids.

There's a lot of fun to be had: decorating a mailbox for school, delivering Valentines to classmates, checking out the cards and treats in your own mailbox. Plus, the room moms and dads usually throw a party with pink cupcakes and punch.

Here are two great new books to read aloud during the cupcake fest.

"Love, Splat," by Rob Scotton, HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 3 to 7, is the second book about the anxious, but endearing, black cat we first met in a first-day-of-school story called "Splat the Cat."

This tale is set on Valentine's Day. Splat's worries are focused on a special card he plans to give Kitten, a classmate with snowy white paws and pea green eyes. Splat likes her more than fish sticks. When she sees him, she pokes him and does other annoying things, which perplexes him.

Splat has trouble working up the nerve to deliver the special valentine. It doesn't help when he finds out that brawny Spike likes Kitten, too, and has a bigger, flashier card for her.

But sincerity and true feelings win out in the end, a lovely Valentine's Day message for people of all ages. (And he finds out that the teasing behavior had affectionate roots.)

Scotton's artwork is charming. His cats look fuzzy enough to touch and each is imbued with distinct personality.

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"Henry and the Valentine Surprise," by Nancy Carlson, (Viking Juvenile), $15.99, ages 4 to 8, features a heart-shaped box on the teacher's desk that starts an entire class speculating about the identity of their teacher's girlfriend _ or girlfriends.

He's spotted talking to the playground monitor. Could that be her? He smiles at the lunch lady and eats with the French teacher. Rumors fly.

Finally, Henry asks Mr. McCarthy which one the box is for. None of the above, it turns out. The box contains presents for the class: accessories for their new tank of goldfish.

There's a sweet surprise ending though. While the kids are distracted by the fish, the reader will spot Mr. McCarthy in the background, holding hands with Sally from the pet store.

The story, with Carlson's fun, bright artwork, weaves in traditional Valentine's Day activities. The students make valentine boxes. There are "yummy candy hearts" and a class party.

It's nice to see a story that acknowledges that teachers have personal lives. One student speculates that Mr. McCarthy lives at school. Another corrects him. "I once saw Mr. McCarthy at the grocery store."

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© 2009, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.).