Valentine’s Day Secret

It’s Valentine’s Day, but things are not all hearts and flowers for Nancy! While she and her best friends, Bess and George, are making their own stuffed animals at Farmer Fan’s Barnyard Buddies, someone slips a mean valentine into Bess’s animal’s pocket. What’s worse than a mean valentine? Even worse, Bess thinks it came from George! Now the two are in the worst fight ever—and Nancy’s caught in the middle! How can she sew Bess and George’s friendship—not to mention the Clue Crew—back together?

Pink hot chocolate, dressed-up stuffed animals, and sharing cards all combine to make an interesting mystery. The friendship drama is integrated into the mystery, and the two topics combine to highlight the importance of forgiveness. While looking for clues, Nancy’s dog chews Colette’s new cow slippers. Nancy offers to save her allowance to buy Colette another pair. Even though Colette is upset, she forgives Nancy and says, “Dogs will be dogs. That’s why I like cows.” The story concludes when the culprit is discovered, and the three friends quickly forgive the valentine writer and each other.

Valentine’s Day Secret has many positive aspects that parents will appreciate. Like all children, Nancy and her two best friends squabble but eventually resolve their problems and remain best friends. In addition to using the powers of observation, the three friends are polite, ask permission before they jump into action, and show kindness to others.

Young mystery fans will not only enjoy the mystery but also the wordplay that appears in Valentine’s Day Secret. Readers will relate to Nancy, who is caught in the middle of her friends’ fight. Even though the three main characters are friends, they are unique individuals who have different interests. Black and white illustrations appear every 2 to 5 pages, which break up the text and help readers visualize the events in the plot. The last page of the book gives directions for making a charming Valentine pencil. This modern version of Nancy Drew will entertain today’s readers who will want to analyze the clues to see if they can determine who wrote the mean valentine.

Sexual Content

• None

Violence

• A girl grabs George’s stuffed cow and runs off with it.

 Drugs and Alcohol

• None

Language

• None

Supernatural

• None

Spiritual Content

• None