Katie Fitzgerald's Reviews > Snowy Valentine

The creator of the Mouse Guard graphic novels has written a sweet Valentine's Day story about a rabbit named Jasper Bunny who can't decide what to give his wife, Lilly for Valentine's Day. All the other animals in the woodland neighborhood where he lives have their gifts picked out. Miriam the frog will give her husband chocolate-covered flies, for example. Teagan the fox even tries to cook Jasper to give his wife the gift of rabbit stew! Ultimately, though, after walking the perimeter of the whole forest, Jasper realizes he has created the perfect gift without even trying. His tracks around the woods have formed a heart beginning and ending at his very own front door.

This is the kind of heartwarming book preschoolers and early elementary school kids can appreciate around Valentine's Day. They don't know much about romance just yet, but they know plenty about familial love and comfort, and they might even know about trying to find perfect gifts for those they care about. Jasper, though clearly a married adult, becomes child-like because he is a rabbit, and not only do kids learn about the tastes and habits of different animals, they also learn to appreciate the idea that it's the thought that counts much more than any tangible object. The illustrations are beautiful, immersing the reader in the snowy world of Jasper's forest surroundings, and accurately portraying animals while still humanizing them enough to make the story work very well.

David Petersen's talents are well-suited to the picture book genre. I hope to see more from him!