Celebrating Family Love: A Read, Discuss, Do Book List
For Valentine's Day, we’ve compiled a list of books that combine family and love
Valentine’s Day is a day of love—and one of the greatest portrayals of love is family. Family is where we first learn to accept and give love, how to process thoughts and feelings, and how to communicate. It’s where we understand relationships, starting with parents, grandparents, and possibly siblings.
Family is a safe place to learn about love.
For this lovely holiday, we’ve compiled a list of books that combine family and love! If you’re looking for a little gift for your family, be sure to grab a book and read together. Reading is a gift that always gives back! Not only are we enjoying a story, but we are also forming bonds with one another.
Offering a cozy lap or a close snuggle to a child when reading teaches safety and comfort, while they learn about language. Our relationship with books is often picked up by the kids around us.
And boy, do we love books around here!! So, let’s get to reading!
You can read any book you choose, but I love the book, I Love You Like No Otter.
READ: I Love You Like No Otter or another title
DISCUSS:
How is love shown in this book?
What wordplay do you notice?
Which animal(s) or character do you like the best? Why?
What is your favorite way to show someone you love them?
What is your favorite way for someone to show you that they love you?
Close your eyes and picture your family. How would you describe them to someone else?
DO:
Hands Down—here’s an idea for an extra special Valentine for family members:
Get washable paint and pour it on a paper plate. Have white paper on standby.
Help your child dip their hands in the paint.
Have your child put their hands together, pointer fingers touching and thumbs touching (to create a heart) and stamp their hands on paper.
Pull up to remove hands from the paper, so as not to smear the paint.
Let the paint dry and draw a heart around the handprint.
Extra: Add a cute saying to the handprint heart. Ideas include: Hands down, you’re my Valentine! I’ve got to hand it to you, you’re the best! You’re my handy dandy Valentine! You carry my love!
Alternative: Trace around your child’s hands and have them color in their handprints.
If you have teens or tweens in your house, consider filling out this Valentine love note from Brooke Romney for them. Older kids need to feel love, too!
Here are some other fun activities to do as a family on Valentine’s Day:
Family Dinner—make a meal and let everyone contribute. Our family loves pizza—and we all help with a topping.
Movie Night
Game Night
Go sledding or take a walk
Dance Party
Make heart shaped cookies and decorate them for Valentine’s Day
Play, “That’s What I Love About You”—and tell each member of the family one thing you love about them.Get a poster board or butcher paper and create one giant family Valentine that every draws and writes on. You can hang it up or deliver a huge Valentine to someone!
Make a heart art project, like this watercolor heart art from Homegrown Friends. It could make a great gift for a loved one!
Regardless of what you do, or which book you read this Valentine’s Day, your family will be creating memories and spending precious time together. Happy Family Day! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Family Love Book List
Note: Some links will take you to the Read, Discuss, Do bookshop.org storefront. Purchasing a book from the storefront will support independent bookstores and help maintain Read, Discuss, Do at no additional cost to you.
Board books and picture books
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBrantney and Anita Jeram. Little Nut Brown Hare and his mom are trying to describe their love to one another and it seems like a very difficult thing to measure! The illustrations are sweet and gentle, and the book really captures the love that exists between a parent and a child.
Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado. This book is the narrative of a father to his daughter reminding her that no matter what happens to her, he will always be there for her throughout her lifetime and his love will remain constant. It is a great way to help kids also learn about God’s unconditional love.
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Whether your child is starting kindergarten, preschool, or just struggling with separating from you for any reason, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is a great book to help ease your child's anxiety and remind him of your love. Chester the raccoon's mom gives him a kiss in his hand to carry with him wherever he goes until they can be together again.
I Love You Like No Otter by Rose Rossner, illustrated by Sydney Hanson. This is the perfect board book for your toddler and is sure to make you both smile! It is loaded with animal puns like "Whoo loves you" (owl), "I seal it with a kiss" (seal), "We bee-long together" (bee), "You make me very hoppy" (bunny), and more! The illustrations will melt your heart!
You’re My Little Sweet Pea by Annette Bourland, illustrated by Kit Chase. This is the perfect bedtime board book for a toddler to help them know how much they are loved.
A Family Looks Like Love by Kaitlyn Wells, Illustrated by Sawyer Cloud. When Sutton Button is born different from the rest of the puppy litter. All of her siblings look similar, but Sutton looks taller and has different coloring. No one believes she fits with her family–and she begins to wonder the same thing. Yet when her family assures her that her differences are true, she looks like her family in all the most important ways. She learns that love, not what you look like, is what makes a family.
The Littlest Valentine by Brandi Doughtery, Illustrated by Michelle Todd. Emma is the youngest child in a large family that owns a confectionary shop. This year she’s so excited she’s big enough to finally help make the Valentine’s treats! Yet everything she helps with is still a little too much for her. It isn’t until she finds a lost puppy that she gets the best idea for tiny tasty treats, perfect for companions.
Together With You by Patricia Toht, Illustrated by Jarvis. A day spent with you is the very best thing! Join a child and a grandparent as they spend days together throughout the year. A rhyming rollicking romp through the seasons–and through special bonds with a family member.
Home is Where the Heart Is by Emma Dodd. This board book is a lovely expression of home. What makes a home so special? It’s where I can be me and you can be you. It’s where we find the things we love, where we play, etc.This rhyming story is fun to read again and again.
Love You More by Gary Urda, Illustrated by Jennifer A Bell. Parents recount the love they have for their child as they do things together. They thought they knew what love was, but…now they understand more. “We love you more than all the raindrops in the sky and the puddles we splashed in.”
Middle Grade
Wish by Barbara O’Connor. When Charlemaigne, Charlie, is sent to live with her aunt and uncle, she is certain it’s just for a short time while her parents figure out their own issues. She makes wishes on anything that she’s heard might make a wish come true–and she wants her original family back together. Yet after living with her aunt and uncle, meeting the boy down the road, and attending school with kids that were nothing like the ones from back home, Charlie begins to understand that the wishes she’s making might come true–just not in the way she expected.
This middle grade novel addresses tough topics, like parental mental health and being adopted by family members, with care and compassion.
A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus. William, Edmund, and Anna are three orphans who are evacuated from London during the early days of World War Two. The siblings come up with a “preposterous plan” to use the evacuation as a way to find the perfect forever family. Of course, a lot goes wrong before it goes right, making it an engaging read that tugs at the heartstrings. This is the story of the love of a found family, no less real than the love of a family you are born into.
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech. This novel in verse is a sweet coming of age story about a girl named Annie, who loves to run. In the course of the story, she worries about the changes to her family, including her grandfather’s declining health and her mother’s pregnancy. But these changes, especially the birth of the baby, make her family closer than ever.
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