Review - Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts (Ann Estelle Stories)
by Mary Engelbreit
Date: 2004
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

Making the best valentine box ever for her favorite holiday is Ann Estelle's newest school project.

It will have glitter, lace, feathers, and even wheels! There's just one thing that Ann Estelle has forgotten -- what could that be?

Valentine's Day will be your favorite holiday, too, when you enjoy this delightful tale with Ann Estelle and her friends as lovingly imagined by best-selling artist Mary Engelbreit.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Queen of Hearts is a cute story about a little girl who gets so wrapped up in being crafty and making the best Valentine's Day box for herself that she forgets to make valentines for her classmates. It's a scenario that I can easily see happening... but it's handled quite well in this story. Ann Estelle doesn't have some huge revelation, but she does figure out a way to solve her problem and make her classmates really happy, which in turn makes her really happy. It's a nice message about friendship and generosity.

As with all of Mary Engelbreit's books, the illustrations are adorable. While they might look a little dated to some readers, they at least have a decent amount of diversity, and even show little girls playing with stereotypically "male" toys.

Fans of Mary Engelbreit will probably love this book, but I think it holds some value for other readers as well, especially with the way the story was handled.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5