Love, Violet – Pride Month PPBF

Title: Love, Violet

Author: Charlotte Sullivan Wild

Illustrator: Charlene Chua

Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2021

Ages: 4-8

Format/Genre: fiction

Themes: Valentine’s Day, Friendship, Love, lgbtqia+, first crush, shyness,

Opening:

As far as Violet was concerned,

only one person in her class raced like the wind.

Only one had a leaping laugh.

Only one made Violet’s heart skip.

Synopsis:

There’s only one person in Violet’s class she wants to go on adventures with: Mira, the girl with the cheeriest laugh and who races like the wind. So Violet has made Mira a very special Valentine.

Because Mira is magnificent.

But what if she thinks Violet isn’t? Violet is afraid that Mira won’t want to go on adventures together, and in order to share her feelings, she must overcome her fears—and maybe a snow flurry or two—to tell Mira how she truly feels, and ask, Want to go on an adventure? (publisher)

Why I like this book:

This wonderful picture book about a first crush is wonderful for Valentine’s Day or any day, in my opinion!

Violet’s nervousness over her crush on Mira is universal and the WLW rep is fantastic to see for this age group! Chua’s art is child-centric and joyful, and Wild’s words are moving and emotive. I love Violet’s name and color scheme likely being a queer reference too for those in the know! And yay for queer happy endings in books!! Just an adorable Valentine’s book for anyone.

Resources/Activities:

Great book to lead into a valentine card activity, but make sure it is really inclusive… we don’t need to know the recipient’s name. It could be a secret or a goldfish… all is good.

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.