With so much Liebster love going around the blogosphere and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I decided to pick a book about school crushes. Afterall which kid or adult hasn’t had one. For those of you who heart for Ryan Gosling (actor from Ides of March & Crazy, Stupid, Love), go check out Tara Lazar’s post, it is hilarious.
Now onto the book review for this week. Wishing you all a very happy early Happy Valentine’s Day !
Title: Love, Splat
Author & Illustrator: Rob Scotton
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2008
Ages: 3-6
Themes: Valentine’s Day, Shyness, Humor, Friendship, Love
Opening Sentences:
“Splat stared into the bathroom mirror. A worried Splat stared back. His heart drummed and his tummy rumbled.
He straightened his whiskers, ruffled his fur, and brushed his teeth. Today he wanted to look just right. After all, today was Valentine’s Day.”
Synopsis (from Harper Collins site):
It’s Valentine’s Day and Splat has a special valentine for a certain someone in his class. Her name is Kitten, and Splat likes her even more than fish sticks and ice cream. But Kitten doesn’t seem to like him at all—she always ties his tail and pokes his belly when she sees him. And then there’s Splat’s rival, Spike, who also likes Kitten. Will Splat’s heartfelt valentine win Kitten’s paw in the end?
Activities:
Here is a link to a one-page “fill in the missing letter” worksheet featuring words from the book. Since this is a Valentine themed book, here are is a site with free themed classroom activities.
Why I Like This Book:
Just a simple, fun story of boy likes girl. Boy thinks he isn’t the cat’s meow or is he? I enjoyed seeing the journey that Splat went on from grooming himself in the morning, to knocking down Kitten by mistake, to competing with Spike about who likes Kitten more, to watching Splat feel down trodden and then learning everything isn’t what it seems. This is a book full of heart.
Rob Scotton does a brilliant pairing of descriptive, short text with colorful, funny illustrations. I love how you can see the individual cat hairs. Other Splat picture books include Splat the Cat, Merry Christmast Splat, Scaredy-Cat Splat, and Splish Splash Splat! There are also a series of Early/Level Readers as well.
Here is the trailer for Love, Splat.
This review is part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book series. Visit her site to see the other books recommended.
Flowering Minds 