The teacher's valentine has disappeared somewhere between the craft table and the treats, and the search runs down through the book. Heart-shaped holes are cut clean through every board page, each smaller than the one before, so the reader looks past rings of red, pink, purple glitter, teal, white and chocolate brown to a small red heart at the bottom.

Anne Passchier fills the cover with the things a classroom party is actually made of: wrapped chocolates, a heart-shaped box tied with ribbon, and candy hearts printed LOVE, CUTE, HUGS and XOXO. A pale pink teddy bear watches from the corner. The publisher points at a furry little class pet who may have stolen the teacher's heart, and the pages give a toddler somewhere to put a finger while the grown-up reads.

Sixteen square board pages, thick and blunt cornered, made for the age that reads with both hands. Published by Clarion Books, a HarperCollins imprint.