Review by Booklist Review
Best friends Petal the elephant and Poppy the rhino each awake on Valentine's Day to discover a special treat. They're both sure the other is their mystery Valentine's gift giver, but as the day goes on and they find more and more valentines together, they each realize there must be someone else delivering all the cheer. Soon, there are more valentines in their snowy town than they can handle, and they come up with a great solution: distribute the warm, loving cards to everyone in the town. Briant's graphic-novel-style illustrations are a great match for emerging independent readers: the only words are in speech balloons, and the pictures provide helpful context clues. The appealing, bright colors and simply drawn characters are just as sweet as the story.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
It's Valentine's Day, and best pals Petal (an elephant) and Poppy (a rhino) have a mystery on their hands: someone is showering them with presents and cards, but who? Beginning readers will take pleasure in spotting the answer long before Petal and Poppy do, thanks to the gently humorous illustrations. It's a sweet celebration of the holiday--and of friendship and gratitude. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
