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Our Favourite Books About Love | Children’s Literature
A celebration that goes back thousands of years, Valentine’s Day has always been a way for people to express their feelings of love to one another in the middle of February. Before Saint Valentine himself came to be associated with the celebrations, the ancient Roman festival, ‘Lupercalia’, was a well established tradition. In time, the church adopted this as a christian celebration, with the first recording of ‘Valentine’s Day’ appearing in celebrated British poet Chaucer's ‘Parliament of Foules’ in 1375.
Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many different ways around the world. Here in England we traditionally shower our loved ones with cards, poems and token gifts, a practice common in America and many other parts of the world too. However, alternative traditions can be found across the globe with some countries practicing their very own sweet gestures to celebrate the international day of love. In South Africa, girls pin a heart with the name of their love onto their sleeves.
7 Feb 2022
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Wherever you are spending Valentine’s Day this year, we are united in celebrating love in all its forms – romantic, familial, friendship. And with this in mind, we have picked out five of our favourite titles in children’s literature that celebrate a parent’s love for their child in the most beautiful ways. We hope these titles inspire you to share a story with your little ones this February.
I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
Ages 0-5 years
A sweet collection of a parent’s hopes and wishes for their child that perfectly encapsulates every parent’s desire for their child to have and experience more wonderful things in their life than they have done themselves. Aspirations for happiness pour from its pages in abundance making it a delightful and affirming book for parent and child to read together.
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I Love You Because I Love You by Muợn Thị Văn and Jessica Love
Ages 0-5 years
This beautiful picture book is a series of proclamations of deep familial love, particularly the love of a parent for their child. The stunning and inclusive illustrations bring the words to life to create a wonderful book that will leave you bursting with emotion. The simplicity with which the infinite parameters of love are expressed by the author is truly unique.
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Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman
Ages 0-5 years
Timeless in its ability to embody a parent’s love for their child, Wherever You Are My Love Will Find Youis a triumph by New York Times bestselling author Nancy Tillman. A wonderful, poetic piece that highlights the endless nature of a parent’s love for their child – through early childhood, teenage years and beyond. A parent’s love is everywhere, even when it might feel intangible, because a child carries that love wherever they go, especially when their parent is no longer by their side.
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The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
Ages 0-5 years
Centred on the unconditional love of a parent, The Wonderful Things You Will Be explores the endless possibilities that every child is born with and the musings of parents as they consider who their little one will grow to be, knowing that they will always be their own brilliant, unique and wonderful self. A poignant and heartfelt book that offers the reassuring message that a child will always be loved, whoever they grow up to be.
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Love by Matt de la Peña and Loren Long
Ages 4-8 years
Multi-award-winning author, Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator, Loren Long, have come together to create a wonderfully emotive piece, Love. In the book readers are shown that love is the one thing that can connect us all, it unites humans across the world, from all different backgrounds and cultures and fills us with hope. Matt’s prose is as profound as the emotions you will feel reading it. The story begins with the birth of a child and follows them as they grow, perfectly exemplifying every place in which love can be found and, importantly, given. The power of that emotion of love and its ability to bring us together, overcome hurt, pain and struggle, is beautifully communicated in Matt and Loren’s simple, expressive prose and artwork.
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