February Love: Books to Share With the People Who Matter Most
February often arrives wrapped in pinks, reds and Valentine’s Day traditions, but love is much broader — and much quieter — than a single day on the calendar.
At Smallprint, I see love in the everyday moments. The ones that don’t need cards or flowers. The moments where time slows down, a child leans in close and a story is shared.
This February, we’re celebrating love through reading.
Love looks like reading together
For children, being read to is never just about the words on the page. It’s about connection, attention about knowing that someone has paused their day to sit beside them.
Shared reading creates a sense of safety and belonging. It allows children to ask questions, explore feelings, and make sense of the world with someone they trust close by. These moments, no matter how brief are powerful.
A story before bed.
A book on the sofa after school.
A quiet page turned together on a Sunday morning.
These small rituals build bonds that last far longer than the story itself.
Books as emotional anchors
Books often become emotional anchors in childhood. Children remember how a story made them feel just as much as what it was about. They remember the voice that read it to them, the laughter at a familiar page, the comfort of returning to the same story again and again.
Some books are revisited dozens of times — not because they’re new, but because they’re comforting and they become part of family life. I've lost count of the amount of times we've read Oliver Jeffers 'Lost and Found', the relationship between Boy and Penguin just melts your heart and you'll find yourself snuggling in with your little one.
Stories that grow with children
The best shared books are the ones that grow alongside children.
A peek-through board book that sparks giggles in the early years.
A picture book that opens conversations as children get older.
A story that gently explores emotions, relationships or big ideas.
Reading together allows adults and children to meet on the same page — literally — and gives space for connection without pressure, sometimes you find the story does the talking for us.
Love beyond Valentine’s Day
While February is often linked to romantic love, I think it’s also a time to celebrate family love, intergenerational love, and everyday care.
The love between parents and children. Between grandparents and grandchildren. Between siblings, carers, foster families and chosen families.
Books can sit at the heart of all of these relationships — passed between hands, shared across ages, and treasured for years. Love doesn’t need a card, sometimes it just needs a story.
Books as keepsakes, not just gifts
Some books are more than something to read once. They’re books you keep. Books you return to and books that hold memories inside their pages. All three of my boys have read Elmer and all three have loved it for many different reasons.
A book given with intention becomes a keepsake — something children carry with them long after childhood. These are the books we love most: thoughtful, beautifully made, and full of meaning.
They make perfect gifts, but they’re just as valuable when they’re bought simply to be shared.
Creating space for connection
In a world that often feels busy and noisy, books offer something rare: stillness. They create space for children and adults to pause together. They offer moments of calm, invite closeness without distraction. Shared reading doesn’t have to be long to be meaningful., even five minutes can be enough to reconnect at the end of a day.
Reading and writing is my love language
When you become a reader you also become a writer, this is no different for children and as it is February why not get them to write notes to their loved ones. Little notes that don't take long to write but last a lifetime to the recipient.
Whether you’re reading with a child, gifting to someone you love, or simply looking to create more shared moments at home, February is a lovely time to lean into connection. Because love doesn’t always shout, sometimes it whispers — through a story, shared quietly, side by side.