Book List: Valentine’s Books for Kids

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Every holiday there are books made for children about that holiday. This month, it’s Valentine’s Day books! Share these fun holiday books with your children and spread some love!

Spot’s Valentine
by Eric Hill: When I was a child I loved the Spot books. In this book, Spot tries to find all of the supplies to make a Valentine for his mother.

Valentines Are For Saying I Love You (Reading Railroad) by Margaret Sutherland and Amy Wummer: In this story a little girl makes a valentine for everyone she knows to make sure they know she loves them.

Where Is Baby’s Valentine?: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Karen Katz: This “Where is Baby” book is one of the lift the flap books that toddlers love. In this story, the children lift the flaps to find the valentines.

Love Bug (Snuggle-Me Stories) by Sandra Magsamen: This story is a combination rhyming and puppet book. The book comes with a finger puppet to help tell the story. This book is designed for babies so they can also enjoy the Valentine’s holiday.

Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond. In this story, a little girl is walking through the rain when it starts to rain hearts. She takes the hearts home and makes special valentines for the people that she loves; Rabbit, Turtle, Dog and Mouse.

Valentine’s Day Is. by Gail Gibbons: This book is a children’s version of the Valentine’s Day holiday. The book simply explains the history, customs and meaning of the holiday. It also has directions for a simple Valentine’s craft.

Book List: Children’s Biographies

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Last night I decided that I wanted to read more inspirational literature to my little girl. There are some really interesting and admiring people that I think are good to read about. When we were young, my mom kept stock of some biographies, and I enjoyed reading them when I was around 10 or so.

The Sower Series: This is the series of books that my mom had when we were children. I loved reading the early parts of the stories when the people were young, but when the characters got older, I got a little bored. However, I think the stories are very inspirational. I preferred the stories about girls and women, but I still read the boy’s stories.

The Lightkeepers Series: These books are shorter and less detailed. Each book has ten stories of boys or girls in it. The titles are something like “Ten boys Who Changed the World.” I haven’t read these yet, but I plan to. I think shorter stories are better for the younger audience with a shorter attention span.

The Young Patriots Series: These stories are not religious-focused, but they do tell the story of famous Americans who changed the country or world with their actions. Some of the people written about in this series are Amelia Earhart, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock and Frederick Douglas.

Book List: Romance Novels

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Today I woke up feeling like reading some quality books with romantic themes. This is a very narrow list, because I only try to recommend books that I have already read, and I have read few romance novels. That being said, here are some of my favorite books with romantic themes.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: I really think this book is one of the most romantic of all time. Victor Hugo was a French writer, and I guess what they say about the French and love is true. At any rate, there are several levels of romance in this book, but my favorite was always between Cosette and Marius.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: This book is amazing to me on many levels. Jane is a strong character that is unlike any other from books in that period. The romance she develops with Mr. Rochester is exciting, funny and touching at the same time.

Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood by George Macdonald: I honestly love several of his stories for the romance aspect. Macdonald writes in a kind of epic Gothic style, full of fainting women, creepy castles and possible activity from beyond the grave. At any rate, his romances are touching in an old-fashioned way. I loved them as a teen and still love them today.

A Rose in Bloom by Lousia May Alcott: A very old-fashioned romance. If you can get beyond the idea the the main character eventually marries one of her cousins, the romance is sweet.

Thorn in My Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs: This book will give you a thorn in your heart while you read it. I have never read any other book that brought me to have such passionate feelings about the characters. Most of the drama in this story revolves around two sisters marrying the same guy due to ridiculous misunderstandings and laws, but suspend disbelief to enjoy the heartbreaking aspect.

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern: This is the book behind the movie. It is another sad story, but I prefer a little heartache with my romance.

The Little Minister by J.M. Barrie: Surprisingly enough, the author of Peter Pan also wrote other stories! I love this romance novel of his focusing on the romance between a minister and a gypsy girl. The minister struggles between convention that says he cannot be with the woman he loves and the knowledge that the gypsy is the kindest and most loving person he knows.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks: A touching romance between a young boy and his dying girlfriend. Better than the movie. I don’t say that for The Notebook, however. I prefer the movie for that one.

8 Exciting Action-Packed Books for Teen Boys

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action packed books for teen boys

Do you have a teen boy? Sometimes it can be hard to get older boys to be interested in books. These books are packed full of action and should appeal to the sense of adventure in any teen boy. 

20000 leagues under the seaTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

This classic adventure follows the travels of a mysterious submarine captain back become submarines existed. This story is perfect for boys interested in science and nature.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

This series follows the adventures of famous book characters from the Victorian period as they do fantastic things. The book is classified as steampunk, because the focus is on machinery. Any gadget-focused guy will love reading this story!

Dune by Frank Herbert

If your teen is interested in highly detailed fantasy and science fiction worlds, he should love the Dune universe. The universe is so detailed that there is a separate holy book that the author wrote just to quote before the chapter beginnings. This is space fantasy at it’s best!

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is one of the most epic series of fantasy books ever. Nearly all fantasy stories since the publication of this book have copied many of the elements in the story. This story follows an epic adventure of the classic struggle between good and evil.

The Ender Series by Orson Scott Cardenders game book cover

The Ender’s game series starts with children playing war in an asteroid, but after the first book you realize how complex the universe actually is. I particularly recommend the stories written about Peter and the other gifted children while Ender was colonizing new worlds, such as Sjhadow of the Giant and Shadow Puppets.

Anything by Douglas Adams

This man was able to create a hilarious nonsensical world in several different universes, ranging from time-traveling aliens to a pathetically bad private investigator.

The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld is a tongue-in-cheek universe that mocks our current society and developments. This series is best suited to a boy who doesn’t take life seriously and gets annoyed at books that take themselves too seriously.

zombie survival guide book coverThe Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

If the teen boy in your life does not like to read at all, consider the gift of the Zombie Survival Guide. This hilarious little manual instructs the reader on what to do in case of zombie attack. He may also like the book inspired by the Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z. 

What books do the teen boys in your life love to read? 

More Book Lists for Teens

Books for teen girls that aren’t all about romance or vampires

11 books to read before the movie comes out

Fantasy books that are readable 

 

8 Books for Teen Girls That Aren’t All About Romance or Vampires

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no romance no vampires teen girls

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

This book is a historical novel about a 16 year old girl growing up in the early 1900s. She works at a hotel to help pay for college where she hopes to study writing. However, social conventions and her love for her family make her hesitate to pursue that dream. This story is not your typically romantic view of the early 1900s and it shows some of the more gruesome aspects of early 20th century living, including repression, racism and cruelty.

sisterhood of the traveling pants seriesThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

This story centers around four girls who grew up together. In the story, they are 15 years old and facing their first summer apart. They send the pants to each other to encourage and remind the other girls of their strong friendship, even while apart. Subsequent Sisterhood books expand the relationship and shed some light on the difficult process of growing up.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

This story gives a modern twist to the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. It explores the difficulties of marrying someone at sixteen whom you hardly know at all. This is a fun a quirky story that fans of princess tales will love. Levine has also written several other stories based on other classic fairy tales that are also enjoyable.

The Princess Diaries Series by Meg Cabotprincess diaries book cover

This series follows the high school career of Mia Thermopolis as she discovers that not only is she one of the most awkward girls in her school, but she also is a princess. If a girl has only seen the movie, she will be pleasantly surprised at the depth and realism present in the books that was deleted from the movie. The book series is no fairytale. Other books by Meg Cabot are also enjoyable and fun.

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

If your middle schooler or junior high student neglected to read Harry Potter, it is also an entertaining read as a high school student. The fantasy may not appeal to all girls, but the writing is good enough to keep most older readers entertained.

pride and prejudice book coverPride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

This is the classic story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. They start out hating one another, but then the feelings change to love. The story can drag, but it is a classic that many teen girls (and fully grown women) fall in love with. My favorite part is how she mocks the entire system of her then-modern society throughout the book.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

This story follows another classic romance of Katherine and Heathcliff. The tale is heartbreaking and somewhat tragic, and is also an interesting social picture into the minds of people that lived in the early 1800s. I love how downright creepy the story is in parts. Wuthering Heights is a classic Gothic novel for a reason.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This story is my favorite classic novel. Jane is a governess for Mr. Rochester’s French daughter. Jane is headstrong, independent and funny. She does not put up with misbehavior and does not allow men to control her life. Considering the time the story was written, it was somewhat revolutionary. I love how she sticks to what she believes in no matter what.

There aren’t that many books marketed to teen girls that don’t have romance as a heavy part of the book. Can you think of any?