Super-Secret Valentine

Ready, Freddy! #10

by Abby Klein

With more than one million copies in print, READY, FREDDY! has been a huge success in Scholastic's Book Clubs.

It's Valentine's Day, and Freddy wants to make a special card just for his friend Jessie. But Freddy is afraid the other children in his first grade class will laugh at him. How can he keep it a secret? Join Freddy as he tries to cut and paste his way to Jessie's heart.
With content, humor, characters, and vocabulary that are perfect for the chapter-book reader--it's time to get ready for Freddy!

Genres: Childrens, Holiday, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Abby Klein was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She earned her teaching credentials at Dartmouth College, where she majored in psychology and education. She then went on to earn her master's degree in reading and language development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Currently she teaches in the same public elementary school she attended as a child in the Los Angeles area. She has been a kindergarten and first-grade teacher there for more than fifteen years and is very involved in the school community, as both a teacher and a parent. Her two young children also attend the school where she teaches. In addition, she is a “teacher-leader” in her district, and over the years, she has presented many staff development workshops both at the district level and at her school site that centered on reading, writing, and literacy. She has been a presenter at national conferences as well.

In her first published series, Ready, Freddy!, Klein brings just the right amount of true-to-life humor and drama. She brings young readers a fresh voice, a great sense of humor, and a unique perspective on the trials and tribulations of first grader Freddy Thresher. Utterly authentic and drawn from real experience in the classroom, Abby Klein knows exactly what first graders are thinking.

She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, two children, and three dogs. She thinks there's nothing better than a good book, and she loves reading aloud to children.

Reviews

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a excellent series for kids who are just getting comfortable in reading. Following Freddy as he deals with the hazards of trying to make a special valentine for his girl friend at school, he takes the reader through crazy adventures and humouros situations. A great book for beginner readers. As a bonus, in each illustration, the illustrator has hidden the word, FIN, so that gives the reader a extra enjoyment as they read.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Valentine's Day, and Freddy wants to make a special card just for his friend Jessie. But Freddy is afraid the other children in his first grade class will laugh at him. How can he keep it a secret? Join Freddy as he tries to cut and paste his way to Jessie's heart. With content, humor, characters, and vocabulary that are perfect for the chapter-book reader--it's time to get ready for Freddy!

[Cheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to a second-grade class and they liked it well enough, which is why I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1. They weren't enthusiastic about it enough to merit more stars, and I was unimpressed. The writing style was appropriate for kids, but the characters were pretty flat and uninteresting.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but I don't like how Freddy hides the Valentine supplies from his mom and sneaks them up to his room. My son also did not like this and he asked me to skip that part.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly little book about bullies and secret love.

[Effie · Rating 2 out of 5]

some of the kids enjoyed it - but centers on lying and having a girlfriend. Ready Freddy books are still not being borrowed from the library. would not do as a read aloud again.

[Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it was about a boy named Freddy and how he was expressing his feelings to a girl.

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[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short story for kids.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gaaaa!! I had bought two of these at a yard sale- and had read one to my 5 year old son and was really irritated by how mean the kids were to each other in it. Well, I had obviously forgotten because I decided to pull this other one out to read to my kids for Valentine's Day. My kids would absolutely NEVER get away with talking to each other the way this brother and sister talk to each other. I was just editing as I went. There was seriously like a two page argument between these kids I just completely skipped.
They wanted us to feel bad for Freddy because there was a class bully who teased them and chased them. But then Freddy and his best friends would talk and laugh and say horrible things about this other girl in their class. I hated Freddy just as much as I hated the class bully.
Why would someone write a character like this?! I don't want my kids thinking that it is normal to just call each other names, make fun of kids behind their backs!
Never again. There are about sixty billion better things to read out there.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story about Valentine's Day, boys and girls being friends, bullying, and hiding things from your Mom. I'm not so sure that the kinds of behaviors depicted were ones that I would want our girls to copy, but it is just a story. I would've preferred it if Freddy had been caught with the crafting materials in his room, with some simple, but appropriate punishment. After all, it was his sister that he was hiding the special Valentine from. He didn't want any flack about making a special one for a girl, and she found out in the end anyway. The dialogue was a bit coarse (words like brat, dumb and weirdo) and the teasing was rampant, although probably fairly typical. While our girls enjoyed the story, we used this book to initiate a discussion about what is not nice, fair or appropriate and how Freddy would've been caught and in trouble if he lived in this house. Sneaking around behind Mom's back is not cool. I am glad that it depicts a boy and a girl at that age being good friends without being "in love," but I do wish it were less of a secret.

The extra pages in the back include fun activities and information for children, although as this is a library book, we were sure not to write in the book. Until I read other reviews for this book, I didn't know that there was a hidden word (fin) in the story, but we went back and found it. Thanks!

[Tal · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like these books. they are always cute. i like that the characters are real and that they teach some kind of lesson throughout. the pictures are fun as well. especially, though, i like the tough teacher who doesn't let her kids get away with anything! too many times, the teachers in books are wimps!

[Earline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this story. I enjoyed Freddy's loyalty to his friend, but I'm not sure how I feel about all of the sneaking around and teasing. I thought the ending was okay, but felt like the author could've used the ending to convey more of a message (standing up for what you believe and not being afraid and having to keep friendships secret).

[Monica Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

good...abrupt ending

[Oishika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches about what you can give to a very special friend

[Brokela]

It is short

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freddy is making a secret valentine for Jessie so he has to sneak the stuff up to his room to make it.

[Superreader200 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freddy likes sharks. He makes a Valentine's Day card for his girlfriend.