Best Valentine’s Day Books and Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Happy Valentine’s Day! Ahh, it’s that time of year again — here’s an awesome list of the Best Valentine’s Day Books and Activities for Preschoolers! It’s one of my favorite fun “holidays” – no pressure, just cards, crafting, books, and candy, all with beautiful reds, pinks, and whites for your special Valentine. I love that Valentine’s Day decor adds a burst of color to the dreariness of winter. Give me an opportunity to give our kids extra hugs and squeezes – I am here for it! Enjoy the list of our favorite Valentine’s Day books for young readers and a few Valentine’s Day activities for young children too.

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Best Valentine’s Day books and activities for toddlers: Books

I Love You, Baby Shark

I know, I know, the song is already in your head! If your toddler is at all like mine, this song is on in your house at least twice a day! This cute board book follows baby, momma, and daddy sharks and is a great read-aloud with your little one. Add this to your list of the best Valentine’s Day books and activities for preschoolers and toddlers.

You Are My Sweetheart

This is a little sweet story with various cute images like candy hearts, honey buns, and other sweet treats sharing their love. My little one loves the glittery pages and is perfect for snuggling with your little love. Snag it for your baby’s Valentine’s basket this year.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!

Who doesn’t love Mouse from the If You Give a Mouse Cookie books? He is just the best! In this sweet book, Mouse makes Valentines for all of his best friends, unique to all of their special characteristics. This is a great book for talking about making new friends and appreciating our friends in different ways. Another classic story from Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond to add to your library! The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond is another great Valentine’s Day story you can snag from your local library for your older children!

I Love You Every Day

I mentioned these small, sweet books from Cottage Door Press in my other post on great Christmas books for toddlers. Cottage Door Press makes some of our favorite picture books with thick pages and study book covers that can withstand toddler use. The cute little finger puppet from the book is the perfect addition – my toddler loves it!

Ollie’s Valentine

If you love the Gossie and Friends books, you will love this one. They are some of our favorite characters! Ollie is looking for his valentine, along with all of his animal friends. My little one loves the foil print throughout the book, in addition to the adorable story.

Valentine Shapes

Valentine Shapes points out all the shapes to your little one, so this book would be perfect at home or as a read-aloud in preschool. You could follow it up with a coloring shape activity or use play dough to make various shapes. Young readers will love showing off all of their shape knowledge!

Ten Valentine Friends

Ten Valentine Friends is another fantastic counting book for home or the classroom. We love the rhyming story and counting aloud with it as we read. This would make a perfect gift for a preschool teacher too!

Peppa’s Valentine’s Day

When I helped out in my son’s two-year-old classroom, Peppa was one of the most popular characters! I can’t resist reading this book in an English accent. Peppa gets a Valentine from her sweet zebra friend and then decides to share the love with all of her friends.

Valentine Mice

This sweet book shows all of the woodland creatures carrying Valentines to their friends across the forest. We love the rhyming words and the vibrant illustrations.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Curious George

Who doesn’t love Curious George? We are just beginning to introduce George to our little one, and she loves him! What is it about that guy? This story follows George on his adventure as he decorates, makes cards, and bakes. Of course, some mischief occurs! We especially love the fold-out flaps in the book!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose

The Old Lady series…such a classic! This time, the old lady swallows all sorts of things to get ready for Valentine’s Day. All of our kids love reading this one together and trying to remember the sequence of what she inhales.

I Love You Through and Through

My mom gave our oldest daughter this book for her first Valentine’s Day and it has been passed down to all our kids. Each loves the sweet rhyming nature and the adorable illustrations. Bonus..it has strong cardstock pages and a padded cover so it does stand up well to toddler use.

How Do I Love You?

This sweet book is also by Marion Bauer and is based on the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This one is written from the perspective of the parent recounting how much she/he loves her baby, making it another favorite in our household that has withstood the test of time.

Valentine’s Day activities for toddlers

Poster Making

Now for the “best things to do with your toddler” on these best Valentine’s Day books and activities for toddlers and preschoolers. Valentine’s Day offers so many fun activities to do with the toddler(s) in your life, whether at home or in the classroom. Here are a few of my favorites. Many of them would be perfect for a small Valentine’s gift for your little ones (versus just candy treats.)

• Draw a large heart on a poster-sized piece of paper and list all the things you love about your child(ren). Read them aloud with each other. If you are in a classroom setting, draw multiple hearts and put each child’s name in a heart. Allow the class to help list what you love about each other.
• Feel free to print the following worksheet for your home or classroom. Put your child(ren)’s name at the top and list all the things you love about them. If you are at home, post it on the bathroom mirror or in their bedroom. In the classroom, post them around with the child’s photo so that everyone knows how much you love them!

Crafting with Kids

• Play Dough is such a classic choice. Pull out the purple, pink, red, and white play dough, and some heart cookie cutters, and go for it! (I prefer the metal cutters to plastic as they cut much easier.)

• Cut a heart out of contact paper and attach to a window with the sticky side to the window, then, remove the sticky side facing the indoors. Allow your child to use pieces of tissue paper to fill in the heart and watch the sun come through.
• Cut out hearts from construction paper and use Dot Markers to fill in the hearts.

• Print out heart coloring pages and toddler crayons and let your little one go for it!

Fun Snacks and Shows

• Make fun snacks. Use those heart cookie cutters (after you wash off the Play Dough, of course!) and cut out all the things into heart shapes. Sandwich cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, quesadillas, pepperoni, cucumber slices, pancakes – such a fun Valentine’s meal!
• Watch a Valentine’s video! Hop over to pbskids.org and see what your favorite characters like Curious George and Daniel Tiger are doing for Valentine’s Day!

I hope you have enjoyed this post on the best Valentine’s Day books and activities for preschoolers and toddlers. Have a great time celebrating this sweet holiday with your little ones. Hold them close and give lots of hugs and kisses! If you are looking for some great Christmas book ideas for your little ones, feel free to hop over to this post.