Petal and Poppy and the Mystery Valentine

by Lisa Clough, Ed Briant

Overview

On Valentine's Day morning, Petal wakes up to chocolates. Poppy wakes to find flowers. What wonderful gifts for these best friends to give each other. But wait . . . Poppy forgot to get Petal a gift, and Petal forgot to get something for Poppy. So who is this mystery Valentine? With picture clues and simple text, this charming book brings the warmth of Valentine's Day to burgeoning readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544555495
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/29/2015
Series:	Green Light Readers Level 2
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.00(h) x 2.00(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Lisa Jahn-Clough has written and illustrated a number of books for young children, including Alicia Has a Bad Day; My Friend and I; Missing Molly; Simon and Molly Plus Hester; On the Hill; and Country Girl, City Girl. She has taught at Maine College of Art and the Vermont College Writing for Children and Young Adults program. 
 

Ed Briant has published for Flux Llewelyn, Roaring Book, Greenwillow Press, and Atheneum. His first book, Paper Parade, was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. He is also the author and illustrator of the weekly comic Tales from the Slushpile, published online with Publishers Weekly's Children's Bookshelf since 2005. He has taught illustration at Delaware College of Art and Design in Wilmington, Delaware.

 

Editorial Reviews

"Briant's graphic-novel style illustrations are a great match for emerging independent readers...The appealing, bright colors and simply drawn characters are just as sweet as the story." —Booklist —

From the Publisher

2015-09-21
Petal and Poppy discover the identity of their mystery valentine. Friends Petal and Poppy wake on the morning of Valentine's Day wondering if they will receive any valentines. Petal, an elephant, finds a vase of roses and an unsigned card and assumes they must be from Poppy. Poppy, a rhino, discovers a box of chocolates and an unsigned card. It's easy to guess what she thinks. When they thank each other, though, the truth comes out, and the two sleuths set out to find out who their mystery valentine might be, each secretly still thinking it's her friend. A trail of heart cards leads to the sighting of their valentine in a hot air balloon. They spread the cards around to all their friends and find their valentine, a winter-hatted penguin whom observant readers will have already spotted throughout, waiting for them on their doorstep. The three take a ride in the balloon together. Briant's cartoon panels are easy to decode, the characters' emotions plain. The simple vocabulary (other than "mystery" and "valentine") and repetition of phrases are key for beginning readers, but the text is missing some vital parts, namely, character development and an exciting story. Stick with Elephant and Piggie, Mouse and Mole, and Minnie and Moo. (Early reader. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews