Mr. Goat's Valentine

Valentine’s Day is coming and so is author Eve Bunting’s latest picture book, Mr. Goat’s Valentine.

In the book, Mr. Goat can’t get his mind off of his first love. In fact, he wants his Valentine’s Day gift to be composed of some of his first love’s favorite things, like a mixed bouquet of crabgrass, pigweed and ragweed inside a wonderfully edible rusty can that she can nibble on, and a delightfully foul rotten egg for her fine dining pleasure. He even cheerfully accepts a spritz of Miss Skunk’s special perfume to make himself smell just right for his first love.

Young children and their Valentine-loving parents walk step by step with Mr. Goat as he traces a path from his own home to his first love’s front door. They will celebrate with Mr. Goat’s as he joyfully selects each gift, and they will feel anticipation as they anxiously wait to see what she looks like and how she reacts to his gifts once he reaches her home.

This is a sweet little book that offers a unique twist to a really old tradition, and should easily become a holiday favorite. The prose is as precise for its K-2 audience as it is hilarious, especially the references to the foul-smelling eggs that have been rotting to perfection for the last two years.

The illustrations are to die for . . . or better yet, to “meh-eh-eh-eh” for. Readers will adore the round-eyed, smiling Mr. Goat; his pumpkin-headed, yawning pet cat; the rotting eggs that ooze black gook and emit green fumes; and the adorably stinky Miss Skunk.

This book should do well as a holiday title for the lower elementary grades and might be used to jumpstart discussions about humor, holiday traditions, gift selections, and feelings of love.