Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink

by Diane deGroat, Diane deGroat (Illustrator)

Overview

This Valentine's Day favorite read-aloud will prompt lots of giggles, as well as discussions on kindness and forgiveness.

Gilbert is all set to write fifteen friendly valentine cards to his classmates. But how can he write a nice poem for the boy who tweaked his nose, or the girl who made fun of his glasses? Instead, Gilbert writes two not-so-nice valentines...and signs the wrong name on both!

When his classmates read his poems, their feelings are hurt, and Gilbert's prank quickly turns into pandemonium. But with the help of a friend and an honest apology, there's always time for a change of heart on Valentine's Day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780688152208
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Series:	Gilbert and Friends Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Diane deGroat is the illustrator of more than 120 children's books and the author-illustrator of bestselling books about Gilbert, including Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants! (Gilbert Goes Green); April Fool! Watch Out at School!; Mother, You're the Best! (But Sister, You're a Pest!); Last One in Is a Rotten Egg!; and the New York Times bestseller Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink. Diane lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Diane deGroat is the illustrator of more than 120 children's books and the author-illustrator of bestselling books about Gilbert, including Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants! (Gilbert Goes Green); April Fool! Watch Out at School!; Mother, You're the Best! (But Sister, You're a Pest!); Last One in Is a Rotten Egg!; and the New York Times bestseller Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink. Diane lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Read an Excerpt

There they were, fifteen black valentine cards waiting to be filled with nice valentine poems. They were sitting on the kitchen table in a pile as high as Gilbert's nose. Mrs. Byrd had told them to write something nice for each classmate, because Valentine's Day was about liking each other.

Gilbert liked Patty a lot. She had smiley eyes and a silly laugh that made Gilbert feel silly, too. He picked out the biggest card and wrote inside:

Roses are red,
violets are blue.
Your eyes are nice,
and I like you.
Gilbert

Gilbert also liked Frank. Frank let Gilbert use his baseball mitt once when Gilbert forgot to bring his own. On Frank's card he wrote:

Your name is Frank.
It isn't Hank.
You lent me your mitt,
so you I thank.
Gilbert

This is fun, Gilbert thought. He continued to write nice valentine poems until there were two cards left. One for Lewis and one for Margaret.

Gilbert didn't want to write a nice poem for Lewis. Lewis once tweaked Gilbert's nose until it turned red.

He didn't want to write a nice poem for Margaret, either. Margaret made fun of Gilbert's glasses.

...So he didn't write nice poems.Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink. Copyright © by Diane deGroat. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Editorial Reviews

"Human foibles, humorously yet accurately revealed, are given practical, realistic, nondidactic solutions." — School Library Journal

"The annual classroom exchange of valentines is the backdrop for this engaging story about retaliation. These hazardous waters of handing out valentines are negotiated by a cast of animals whose emotional toils will closely mirror readers' own. DeGroat pens a sympathetic look at the small hurts in life and the importance of second chances." — Kirkus Reviews

"The hostility is finally turned around with good humor and with lots of nonsense and forgiveness. Kids will enjoy all the rhymes, and they'll want to make up their own playful parodies both mushy and mean." — Booklist

"de Groat's characteristically buoyant watercolor art features an amiable crew of assorted animals, many festively clad in Valentine's Day-appropriate reds and pinks." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

IRA/CBC Children's Choice

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