With a name like The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever, you know it has to be good.

Title: The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever

Author: Brenda Ferber

Illustrator: Tedd Arnold

Publisher/Date: Dial Books for Young Readers/2012

Valentine’s Day is next week and I have the perfect book for the occasion. Kids will fall in love with The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda Ferber. When Leon makes a Valentine to tell Zoey he likes her, the little heart-shaped card decides to make a break for it. He thinks love is yucky. He likes candy much better than love. So, the chase is on, down the street, past the boys, and the girls, and the teenagers until… Well, I won’t tell you the ending, but maybe, just maybe the Valentine will change his mind about love. This lively and hilarious picture book (with illustrations to match) reminds me of the story of the runaway gingerbread man who would chant as he ran, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!” Well, we all know what happened to him. Thankfully, the Valentine got “caught” by something much less dangerous. Read the book to find out what.