Where’s The Love? A Mad Lib Valentine
Are your children not exactly feeling the love as Valentine’s Day approaches? #thebigone isn’t always a big fan of the holiday either (mushy stuff and six year old boys aren’t always a winning combination), so we’ve taken to mixing some not-so-sentimental books in with the more lovey-dovey Valentines books we read each year. I thought I would share two of our favorites with you, just in case Cupid’s arrows haven’t quite hit the mark for your kiddos this year.
A Crankenstein Valentine, written by Samantha Berger, is absolutely one of our favorites. We first met the main character, Crankenstein in the book Crankenstein, and our family immediately fell in love with him. #thehubs and I can see a lot of our sassy first grader in the character, which is probably why we find both books so amusing. #thebigone loves the sound effects we use when reading them out loud to him… “YECHHHH!” and “GAAAK.” are pretty great words for read-alouds with little boys. Dan Santat’s illustrations are mesmerizing for all ages. He presents so much personality and life in the faces of the characters. The facial expressions Crankenstein makes during his day are so expressive, and incredibly amusing – they inevitably cause giggles at several points in the book. In A Crankenstein Valentine, we follow a crabby kiddo through his Valentine’s Day at school, as he endures the torturous school play, yucky candy, and heart shaped lunch. In the end (spoiler alert) Crankenstein bucks up a bit, as he realizes sometimes all you need to celebrate is a friend who really understands you.
One of the books in the popular ‘Gilbert’ series from Diane de Groat, Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink is the story of young Gilbert, who writes some not-so-nice Valentines to some of his classmates, and even makes a little mischief by signing them with incorrect names. As he sees his classmates read and react to the cards, Gilbert learns the importance of being kind, as well as offering apologies when you have made a poor choice that hurt someone. de Groat’s characters are likeable and sweetly drawn. Children will easily identify with the varying personalities found among Gilbert’s classmates, as well as Gilbert’s own struggles to make the right choices, and make amends when he has not.
Inspired by the unconventional Valentines in both of these great picture books, I created a silly printable for #thebigone to make some wacky Valentines of his own. He’s become a big fan of Mad Libs lately, so I decided to build on that enthusiasm with a silly Valentine Mad Lib. Kids can benefit from the practice this activity provides for handwriting, spelling, and identifying parts of speech. We broke out some colored pencils to add a little coloring in as well, because life could use a little more color somedays. The printable can be printed on plain white paper, or on colored paper if you’re feeling extra festive. (We chose pink, because, Valentine’s Day!)
PRINTABLES:
Do your kids like Valentine’s Day, or does it make them turn into little Crankensteins? Let me know in the comments!
Does Cupid need a little help this year? Help him out with some of these ideas…
Love doing activities inspired by popular children’s literature? Those ideas are waiting for you here!
Vicki @ Babies to Bookworms
That Crankenstein book looks so cute! I love Mad Libs too.
Kate
Crankenstein is such a fun little character, we love him around here!
Stephanie Lowry
My kids would love this!! They sound + look so funny + cute! And we adore mad libs!
Kate
I had to convince my 6 year old that he could not say ‘smelly’ for every single adjective space on the printable, hahaha. The end results can definitely get silly! Thanks for checking out the post!
athomefeelin
I love the Gilbert series! This book looks especially cute, perfect for a Valentine gift for a young reader.
Kate
We’re big fans of Gilbert over here too! Thanks for stopping by!
Five for the Road
This is so fun! My kids love Mad Libs and they love to make them gross and silly. They will have a great time with this!
Kate
My oldest loves to add in stinky and smelly and words like that when he does Mad Libs… He thinks he’s hysterical! I hope your kiddos enjoy it.
The Domestic Realist
Wishing my toddler was old enough for these fun books and activities!
Kate
I do a mix of older and toddler level, since I have a first grader and an almost 18 month old, so definitely check back!
Lovely Little Lives
I love mad libs! pinned to my valentines board
Kate
Thank you so much for checking it out, and for pinning!
Jalisa Marie
This is the cutest idea. My son is only three but once he’s older he would be able to use these.
Kate
Thanks so much, Jalisa!
Meredith from Mommy in Leggings
The is such a great idea!! I love it–I think I’m going to print it out and play it with my husband for valentine’s day date night! hehe (since my daughter is a little too young!)
Kate
Hahaha, that sounds fun! Hope you guys enjoy them.
raracheckman
I have never heard of these 2 books, but they look great! I think my kiddos would love them. Thanks for sharing.
Kate
They’re both super cute books, totally worth checking out.
JeeYoung Dubs
So fun! I used to love doing mad libs as a kid!
Kate
I think a lot of us really loved them- a little bit of nostalgia for the mamas!
onepeainthepod
These books are super cute!!! I especially love the Mad Libs…I had so much fun as a kid with those it’s nice to see they’re still around!
Kate
I enjoyed them when I was younger too!
Amanda Wells
How fun! Sounds like something my boys would like!
Kate
Hope they enjoy!
Mamaguru
We are crazy into Madlibs right now, so this is just perfect. Thanks!!
Kate
So glad you’ll be able to enjoy them!
Lauren
My son would love that crankenstien book! haha!
Kate
It’s a really fun one!
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Jennifer L. Corter (@jenngem)
My son loves Crankenstein! I didn’t know there was a Valentine’s book! I’ll have to get that for him, he would love it!
Kate
He’s such a fun little character! Hope your son loves the Valentine version!
Theafterschoolhouse
I just found Crankenstien for 3$! We will be reading it soon and now have a great reading resource extension thanks to you! Yay! Love reading power:)
Kate
I’m so glad you found the book for such a bargain- I love when that happens! Enjoy the extension activity, and check back- I add kid lit inspired activities often!
Theafterschoolhouse
I will! Thanks!
Jalisa Marie
These are so cute. My son is three and I always try and incorporate him into little things especially into the holidays.
Kate
Thanks so much!