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The Day It Rained Hearts
A creative and sweet story, perfect for Valentine's Day, that helps open the hearts of young readers. From the beloved illustrator of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. One day it rains hearts, and Cornelia Augusta catches them. She realizes that the hearts are perfect for making valentines. Each heart is special in its own way, and Cornelia Augusta knows exactly who to send them her animal friends. A fun way to spark creativity and thoughtfulness! The perfect book to pair with Valentine's Day crafts.
36 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
13 people are currently reading
533 people want to read
About the author
Felicia Bond
77 books66 followersFelicia Bond knew when she was five that she wanted to be an artist when she observed a buttery beam of light coming in her bedroom window. She has illustrated numerous children's books and written many of her own, including Tumble Bumble and Poinsettia and Her Family. She lived for many years in New York and currently lives in New Mexico with her family of cats and a horse named Twister.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
February 14, 2022
When it suddenly starts to rain hearts in this miniature picture-book from 1983, young Cornelia Augusta realizes that Valentine's Day must be close, and, taking advantage of the downpour, gathers the little red objects to her. Making Valentines from the windfall, she mails her missives of love to her friends, spreading the spirit of the holiday far and wide...
Although familiar with Felicia Bond's name, through the illustrations she contributed to the blockbuster picture-book series begun in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie , this little volume is the first of her own titles I have picked up. First published as Four Valentines in a Rainstorm (the edition I read), it was reprinted in 2002 as The Day It Rained Hearts , and has remained in print under that title. I found it a sweet little book, appreciating its whimsical story and simple but expressive art. It is a small book, which no doubt adds to its charm. Recommended to picture-books looking for matter-of-factly magical Valentine's Day stories.
Although familiar with Felicia Bond's name, through the illustrations she contributed to the blockbuster picture-book series begun in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie , this little volume is the first of her own titles I have picked up. First published as Four Valentines in a Rainstorm (the edition I read), it was reprinted in 2002 as The Day It Rained Hearts , and has remained in print under that title. I found it a sweet little book, appreciating its whimsical story and simple but expressive art. It is a small book, which no doubt adds to its charm. Recommended to picture-books looking for matter-of-factly magical Valentine's Day stories.
November 17, 2025
Very sweet book. My major complaint is that a single sentence is spread over multiple pages, making it either really choppy to read as you pause to look at the illustrations (which are telling part of the story that the words are not), or too fast as you flip the pages to keep going with the sentence before the listener forgets what you were saying. I rated it a 3 for that reason.
When Abbie read this on her own, she thought it was "really cute" and gave it 5 stars.
When Abbie read this on her own, she thought it was "really cute" and gave it 5 stars.
February 14, 2018
Cute story for children in celebration of Valentine's Day. It literally is raining hearts!
February 14, 2018
The perfect story to read on Valentine's Day (and we did so this morning), The Day It Rained Hearts tells the sweet story of young Cornelia Augusta (great name) and her desire to make valentines for the special furry friends in her life. The trademark artwork by Felicia Bond brings a welcome sense of youth and home to this story.
March 31, 2011
When I was 3 I LOVED this book it is my favorite picture book ever!!!
January 14, 2020
Cute story. Excellent prelude to making Valentine's Day cards.
November 17, 2017
This is such a sweet book! One day it decides to rain hearts and a little girl goes out to catch them. She collects many different hearts to send valentines to her friends. The following years, there are no more hearts falling from the sky she she decorates the trees in her neighborhood with a ton of her own hearts. The illustrator of this book is the same one that did "If you give a mouse a cookie", so the illustrations are colorful and detailed throughout the book.
I think that this would be a great teaching book about making valentines day cards. I could read this book out loud to my students and then have them make valentines of their own. Also, we can make different animals or shapes from heart cut outs to show the students how they can be used in many different ways. Such a fun book for valentines day!
I think that this would be a great teaching book about making valentines day cards. I could read this book out loud to my students and then have them make valentines of their own. Also, we can make different animals or shapes from heart cut outs to show the students how they can be used in many different ways. Such a fun book for valentines day!
February 15, 2023
This is a nice short Valentine's story about a girl who is walking along one day when suddenly the sky inexplicably begins to rain down Valentine hearts. Rather than look at the sky and wonder how this could be happening, the girl just takes it as what it is and thoughtfully begins to gather the hearts to use as Valentines for all the little animals in and near her house.
The Day It Rained Hearts is a happy story that has a lot of good to it. I think that most readers will find it difficult not to smile a few times while reading it. I would give this book at least one and a half stars, and perhaps the full two.
The Day It Rained Hearts is a happy story that has a lot of good to it. I think that most readers will find it difficult not to smile a few times while reading it. I would give this book at least one and a half stars, and perhaps the full two.
February 23, 2025
I had heard of this book and never read it before, but found it in my collection this year and read it to my class. What a snooze. Not a fan and I’m only writing this so I remember to not read it again.
February 12, 2026
One of my favorites from childhood and still love it today.
January 22, 2021
Who doesn't love a book about hearts raining from the sky where a girl named Cornelia Augusta collected them and made Valentine's for her friends? It's lovely and sweet. A perfect Valentine's Day gift. A lovely read one-on-one or to a group of preschoolers maybe even followed by making Valentines of their own <3
December 2, 2020
One day it started to rain hearts, and Cornelia Augusta caught several. She took them home and began making valentines for her friends. Each heart was different, but perfect for each of her friends. She made thinks like heart necklaces, drawings, and cards. She mailed out her valentines, and her friends loved them. It never rained hearts again, but Cornelia Augusta still found ways to make valentines.
I am a sucker for anything with hearts, they are my favorite shape. The illustrations were super cute, and the story was super fun. Felicia Bond is creative with how she makes each heart relate to each animal friend. While reading the book, I wondered how she knew they would relate to each of her friends, but in the end, it all made sense.
I would 100% use this for a valentines day lesson. I would have the kids make heart valentines for whoever they wanted. It's also a good lesson for them to predict who is going to get each card as Cornelia is making them. It shows that everyone is different, but that's good!
I am a sucker for anything with hearts, they are my favorite shape. The illustrations were super cute, and the story was super fun. Felicia Bond is creative with how she makes each heart relate to each animal friend. While reading the book, I wondered how she knew they would relate to each of her friends, but in the end, it all made sense.
I would 100% use this for a valentines day lesson. I would have the kids make heart valentines for whoever they wanted. It's also a good lesson for them to predict who is going to get each card as Cornelia is making them. It shows that everyone is different, but that's good!
February 19, 2021
I read this book with a group of kindergarten friends earlier this week. It's a sweet book about one day when it starts raining hearts, and a little girl gathers them all up and uses them to make valentines. The plot was engaging, yet easy to follow. The illustrations were beautifully done. And it prompted good classroom discussion. My kindergarten friends shared things that they wished it would rain, and we predicted who the valentines were for. I recommend this one for classroom read alouds, parents and children to read together, and beginning readers.
July 1, 2018
A cute valentine's day book. It shows the importance of thinking of others and actually putting work into gifts for others to make them feel special. I like how the homemade gifts were made to feel important over trinkets from the store. I still don't know why it rained hearts that one time, but maybe it was to remind the little girl to go ahead and get busy thinking of her friends! The God of friendship saying 'ahem, ahem' maybe? I thought the illustrations were cute.
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June 15, 2019This is a story about the only day it rained hearts. The girl caught then as they came down and thought it must be close to Valentine's Day. She looked at all of her hearts and tried to decide which one best suited each of her friends that she would send them to. She customized it in different ways and sent them out ASAP. I never rained hearts again, but the girl had other ideas to share her love.
January 17, 2020
3.5 stars
Nothing obviously amazing about this book, but I found it kind of charming in a simple way. It rains hearts one day, and Cornelia catches a bunch of them and makes them into customized valentines. Then she sends them off to her friends, and it never rains hearts again. Weird, but charming. Would display. Simple, not too much text. 3+
Nothing obviously amazing about this book, but I found it kind of charming in a simple way. It rains hearts one day, and Cornelia catches a bunch of them and makes them into customized valentines. Then she sends them off to her friends, and it never rains hearts again. Weird, but charming. Would display. Simple, not too much text. 3+
June 11, 2020
This is a perfect Valentine's Day read-aloud book for grades K-3. You could have students follow the instructions to make the heart valentines Cornelia makes to send to her friends. You could also count the hearts for math problems, or use it as a prompt for students to inspire them to make their own Valentine's Day cards to give to their friends as Cornelia did.
April 6, 2019
Odd book. I mean, I liked it, but it was odd. I did enjoy seeing how the hearts turned into valentines that reflected their recipients so well, but the story felt strange and a little choppy. And I'm still not sure what to make of the ending...
February 22, 2019
I enjoy the illustrations in this story. The text is simple—a little girl catches hearts and makes valentines for her friends. I used it as a read aloud and tried to get kids to guess who each valentine might be for.
June 17, 2020
Children's literature picture book Valentine's Day
Pk-1
Finally a Valentine's Day book. The raining hearts are turned into thoughtful cards for those dear to Cornelia. Very cute book that made me smile. I'm sure it would make my students smile as well.
Pk-1
Finally a Valentine's Day book. The raining hearts are turned into thoughtful cards for those dear to Cornelia. Very cute book that made me smile. I'm sure it would make my students smile as well.
March 19, 2017
A cute book about hearts raining from the sky and a little girl gathering them to make valentine's for her friends. Alistair (2) asked for this one at bedtime a lot.
February 16, 2018
Possible valentine's day storytime book.
June 2, 2018
Great for Valentines day retelling of events!
February 6, 2019
Story is cute, but the art is just so small on the page. Used as a story on the wall, it worked, but the kids didn't love it.
February 6, 2019
Read this today at work to Kindergartners for outreach and it was very sweet. Also appropriate for today specifically because it rained all day long.
February 18, 2019
Very cute and imaginative story.
September 8, 2019
I'm not sure I understand the concept of raining hearts, I feel I am missing something in terms of the story line but I loved the illustrations. Soft colored pencil drawings.
March 16, 2023
What a magnificent title for a book:"The Day It Rained Hearts."
Being a person with very strong emotions, many days, for me it's as though "The Dew on the Grass Is Made of Hearts." No wonder I'm eager to find out what Felicia Bond (both author and illustrator here) has to say about this meteorological marvel falling from the sky.
Turns out, the heroine of this picture book decided to make "perfect" Valentine's Day cards out of the hearts that she gathered.
Me? I would have slapped them into my body, just on the chance that I might safely become more loving, learn more about love. (Because there's always so much more to learn.)
But Cornelia Augusta, the heroine, is far more visually talented than me, for sure. No wonder...
CORNELIA TURNED THAT LOVE INTO A CREATIVE CRAFT PROJECT
For sure, crafty readers might get some fine craftsy ideas from this book. Plus, picture books usually are mostly about literal, objective reality.
Altogether, this book works just fine. Although, personally, I found it pretty disappointing. And yet...
The illustration and sentiment of the last page? Definitely my favorite part.
Being a person with very strong emotions, many days, for me it's as though "The Dew on the Grass Is Made of Hearts." No wonder I'm eager to find out what Felicia Bond (both author and illustrator here) has to say about this meteorological marvel falling from the sky.
Turns out, the heroine of this picture book decided to make "perfect" Valentine's Day cards out of the hearts that she gathered.
Me? I would have slapped them into my body, just on the chance that I might safely become more loving, learn more about love. (Because there's always so much more to learn.)
But Cornelia Augusta, the heroine, is far more visually talented than me, for sure. No wonder...
CORNELIA TURNED THAT LOVE INTO A CREATIVE CRAFT PROJECT
For sure, crafty readers might get some fine craftsy ideas from this book. Plus, picture books usually are mostly about literal, objective reality.
Altogether, this book works just fine. Although, personally, I found it pretty disappointing. And yet...
The illustration and sentiment of the last page? Definitely my favorite part.
March 17, 2017
I guess I wanted to see more about the people Cornelia sent the Valentines to. I did not relate to the end of the book and felt like it was disconnected from the rest of the story. I did not read it to my daughter because I felt like it was a little wordy for a two-year-old. It might be a different reaction if a girl were to be my audience but then again, I'm not sure I would love for my kids to be obsessed with sending out valentines. This book overall was just a little off and ended in a confusing and abrupt way.
This might not be a fair review since I only gave it one chance and my audience were two young boys.
This might not be a fair review since I only gave it one chance and my audience were two young boys.
December 29, 2024
I enjoyed the book “The Day It Rained Hearts” for its sweet message about kindness and creativity. Cornelia Augusta’s considerate movements in making personalized valentines highlight the pleasure of giving and celebrating individuality. The tale beautifully inspires readers to spread love in meaningful and creative ways.
This book is a sweet celebration of friendship, love, and the beauty of caring for others.
This book is a sweet celebration of friendship, love, and the beauty of caring for others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews