Excerpts

Valentines Cards Mouse traced a heart on the frosted windowpane. "Valentine's Day is coming!" she squeaked. Just thinking about it warmed Mouse from ear to tail. "I'd better make a list of our friends," she sighed. "Mole is below, waiting to make valentines." Mouse nibbled the end of her pencil. "Let me think . . . there's Brown Rabbit, White Rabbit, and Squirrel, " she wrote. " Skunk, Porcupine, and-- Turtle, too." Mouse twirled her tail. "It seems I'm forgetting someone? Silly me!" she giggled. "I left out my best friend!" Mouse added Mole to the list. She drew a heart next to his name. Mouse got a funny feeling inside--like butterflies in her stomach. Downstairs, Mole was getting ready to make valentines. Mole rubbed his snout. "Let me see . . . We will need paper and pencils, scissors and glue." Mole laid everything out on the table. "Valentine's Day is about love, " he sighed. Mole felt his face flush. He was thinking about his neighbor upstairs, Mouse. Mole got a funny feeling inside--like butterflies in his stomach. Tap-tap-tap. A knock on the door made Mole jump. "Come in, Mouse," he said."I have been waiting." Mouse stepped into Mole's hole. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "You look a bit flushed." Mole's cheeks turned redder still. "I was busy fetching stuff to make valentines," he explained. "So, what's the plan?" Mouse wondered. Mole took a piece of pink paper and folded it in half. He drew a curvy line in pencil. "That looks like my tail," giggled Mouse. "Do not be silly!" chuckled Mole. He cut along the line with scissors. Snip, snip, snip! "Presto!" Mole unfolded the paper. "Why, it's a heart! " Mouse exclaimed. "You are too clever, Mole!" Mole laid the pink sheet on a red one. "Pencil the message here," he said. Mole cut out more heart shapes. Mouse thought of things to say. She nibbled the end of her pencil. On one card Mouse wrote: BE MINE. On another she put: TOO COOL! "How many do we need?" Mole asked. Mouse peeked at her list. "Six will do." "A half dozen it is!" agreed Mole. Mouse squinted at the red paper. "These pencil lines are hard to read." Mole handed Mouse a tube of glue. "Trace them over with this, Mouse. I will be right back." Mole returned with a jar of silver glitter. He sprinkled it all over the red sheet. Mole tipped the paper up and gave it a tap-tap-tap. The glitter that didn't stick to the letters slid off. Mouse clapped her paws in delight. "You are not only clever, Mole, but artistic as well!" Mole blushed a valentine red. Excerpted from Mouse and Mole, Secret Valentine by Wong Herbert Yee All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.