Wild, Charlotte Sullivan. Love, Violet. Charlene Chua, Illustrator. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 01/2022. [32]pp. Picture Book. GRADES Preschool – 3. OUTSTANDING. $18.99. 978-0-3743-1372-2.
Violet dreams of going on adventures with Mira, but always gets nervous when Mira is around. Valentine’s Day seems the perfect time for Violet to share her feelings, but will Violet be able to overcome her nerves? With gorgeous watercolor illustrations, this book tells a well-known story of first crushes featuring two girls. The text uses onomatopoeia of a nervous heart beat (“THUMPity, THUMPity, THUMPity!”) and the spacing of words to fully capture Violet’s feelings. That the crush is between two girls is not commented on by anyone in the story, allowing Violet and Mira to exist as they are. In addition to the LGBTQ+ diversity, the book also features characters with a variety of skin tones. Love, Violet is an adorable, diverse Valentine’s Day book that shows how things can turn out when people are brave.
Lillian Whithaus — Berkeley Public Library + Temple Isaiah Library