Love is in the Air!  It seems fitting to blog about some books with love in them.  Throughout my years as a librarian, my students and I have discovered some favorite picture books as well as chapter books abounding with this theme!  For the younger crowd :

Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story is written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Janie Bynum and is the story of Cushion the Porcupine.  Cushion lives in a petting zoo, but because he’s so prickly there isn’t any petting for him.  All of the other animals have families to keep them company, but Cushion lives alone.  He decides to remedy this by visiting the other animals in the petting zoo in search of a wife armed with his banjo and a very sad song.  However, his song falls flat until he meets Barb the Hedgehog.  This is a sweet, charming book for all ages.  You can read about Cusion and Barb's other adventures in Hokey Pokey - Another Prickly Love Story.                                            

My fourth graders and I discovered a wonderful Roman myth this week titled Cupid and Psyche told by M. Charlotte Craft and illustrated by K. Y. Craft.  One of the greatest love story's of all time, we learn of Psyche's prophecy from the oracle that she will "marry a creature feared by even the gods themselves", her journey to an enchanted castle with an invisible host, and her ultimate betrayal.  Psyche must then complete three impossible tasks in order to win back Cupid from the goddess Venus's hold.  The magic of the book rests not only in wonderful storytelling but the magnificent illustrations which add layers of richness and drama to the story.   

A favorite of my fourth and fifth grade girls is The Wedding Planner's Daughter by Colleen Paratore.   This is the first book in a series starring Willa Havisham, a twelve year old girl struggling to put down roots in Bramble, Cape cod, where she and her mother have recently moved.  Willa's mother is a successful wedding planner (whom Willa secretly helps by sewing cherry pits into the hem of gowns for good luck) who has no interest in putting down permanent roots or ever finding love.  Willa plays cupid for her mother and grandmother in this charming story that continues on in The Cupid Chronicles, Willa By Heart, Forget me Not, and Wish I Might:  from the life of Willa Havisham.   

What about the boys?  There is a series boys will love called The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan.  While it is short on the love theme, it is rich in adventure.  15-year-old Will is an orphan, small for his age, and has been chosen to be a Ranger's apprentice.  The Rangers are a secretive group thought by the villagers to have the power of invisibility which helps them protect the village from harm and evil.  Are the Rangers magical and how are they so highly skilled?  These are questions Will finds answers to as he begins his training.  He learns that he must be at his best in order to join the Rangers as they prepare to fight the exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, who is planning an attack on the kingdom.  There are nine other books in the series that continue Will's exciting story.  

Mark you calendar for the Scholastic Book Fair.  It will be a Reading Celebration held in the Miller media center the week of March 19 -23rd.   Look for volunteer forms coming home and stay tuned for more information as the fair draws near!