Review by Booklist Review
Valentines were not invented in this country, but their enduring popularity here can be traced to one enterprising Massachusetts woman--Esther Howland (1828--1904), who by the age of 20 was not only designing her own cards but presiding over an assembly line that presaged Henry Ford's, as Churnin points out, by decades. Adding her own variations on "Roses are red . . ." as insets on every page, the author follows her subject through the Civil War years and up to her retirement in 1880: "Esther had poured her heart into helping people show they cared," she writes, and "every time she saw others exchange the fancy cards she'd made popular . . . she felt love fill her heart too." In equally sweet illustrations, Wiśnewska depicts Howland in carefully stylized period dress, from dancing young girl to maturity. The printing press visible in one scene is less realistic, and glimpses of racially integrated assembly lines, public parks, and marching Union troops may stretch the bounds of artistic license. Period sample cards and generic instructions for writing valentine verse cap this rare but superficial profile.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This sunny historical biography traces the tradition of exchanging valentines in the U.S. back to the 19th century, and the kind heart of papercraft pioneer Esther Howland (1828--1904), who made the cards long before it was fashionable. Inspired by a lace-trimmed card that her father brought from England, she brought the custom into vogue stateside when she was just 19, persuading her father and skeptical brothers to sell her valentines through the family's Massachusetts paper company, and engaging an assembly line of friends to help meet demand. Simplistic poems ("Roses are red. Petunias are pink. Cutting and gluing helps me think") accompany Chumin's reportorial storytelling, while Wis´niewska's period-garb-clad characters, portrayed with various skin tones, give the figures a doll-like feel. An invitation to write valentine poems concludes. Ages 4--8. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3--A delightful picture book based on the real entrepreneur, Esther Howland, who created a successful greeting card business in the 1800s. Howland received a present from her father, a card for Valentine's Day, when he returned from a trip to England. Even though valentines were not common in the United States in 1847, Howland was thrilled and felt loved by the gesture. This inspired her to approach her family with the idea to make valentines. Luckily, the family's business was a paper company, S.A. Howland & Sons. Her brothers solicited business, and Howland found people were indeed interested in expressing their feelings through valentines. Soon Howland's business became a great success. As her business grew, she hired other women to help make the Valentine's Day cards, along with holiday and birthday cards. Bright red and pink illustrations compliment the Valentine's Day theme. An author's note includes additional information about Esther Howland, and further back matter shares ideas for making valentines cards. VERDICT A welcome addition to elementary school libraries that would be a great story time read-aloud for Valentine's Day.--Nancy Hawkins
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A look at the woman who revolutionized Valentine's Day. Churnin has covered famous subjects, as in Martin & Anne (2019), and more obscure ones, such as Eliza Davis in Dear Mr. Dickens (2021); here she focuses on one of America's first professional women. Inspired after her father brought her a valentine from England, Esther Howland (1828-1904) created handmade cards with personalized notes. She had the smarts to brand her cards, develop an assembly line, and build her cottage industry into a successful business--one that gave women the opportunity to work outside the home. When the Civil War started, Howland assumed that few would be interested in her cards, but her business thrived as women sent messages to loved ones on the front lines. Churnin notes that after a fall, Howland used a wheelchair for the rest of her life. On every page, readers will find a roses-are-red-type rhyme inscribed inside a basic heart; some verses are as feeble or stretched as their 19th-century counterparts could be, but they are a unifying conceit. Simplified pastel costumes convey a sense of 19th-century dress; women of color are portrayed sitting alongside white women making cards, and Black soldiers are depicted in Union blue. The printing press illustrated here belongs to a much earlier time. Howland's business acumen, creative artistry, and persistence are good reasons to celebrate her, though her actual, elaborate cards, some in museum collections, far surpass the plain depictions shown here. A Valentine's Day gift to ambitious youngsters. (author's note; writing encouragement) (Picture-book biography. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
