Why not celebrate Valentine's Day with candy, flowers and a family storytime? Curl up with your children and share one of the following titles, perfect for February or all year long.

Sometimes the best guy for a job is a girl, according to Punxsutawney Phyllis (Holiday House, 2005, ages 3 to 7, $16.95). Phyllis comes from a long line of distinguished rodents who emerge from their burrows on Groundhog Day (February 2) to predict either a lingering winter or an early spring. Phyllis longs for the honored task but is told repeatedly by extended family that it has always belonged to "a fellow," preferably one named Phil. However, when all the males old and young miss the signs of spring, Phyllis is able to point out the running brook, west wind, singing birds and lack of shadow. The current prognosticator, elderly Uncle Phil, then appoints Phyllis his successor. Author Susanna Leonard Hill's tale of a can-do critter is wonderfully complemented by Jeffrey Ebbeler's lively acrylic illustrations.

Author Crystal Hubbard hits one out of the ballpark with Catching the Moon (Lee and Low, 2005, ages 5 and up, $16.95). Young Marcenia Lyle loves baseball, but her dream of being a professional ballplayer seems as unreachable as the white orb outside her window at night. In the 1930s, the only jobs available to African-American women are those of teacher, nurse and maid, according to her parents, who worry about their daughter's tomboy ways. But Marcenia keeps playing and even convinces Mr. Gabby Street, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, that she be allowed to attend his boys-only baseball camp. The book ends with the happy girl feeling that "she had reached right up in the sky and caught the moon in her glove." An afterword reveals that Marcenia Lyle, under the name Toni Stone, became the first female member of an all-male baseball team. A great read-aloud for February's African-American History Month, this tribute to the power of dreams is further enhanced by Randy DuBurke's engaging pictures of energetic Marcenia.

Exuberant images and powerful rhythms combine in a history of African Dance (Bebop Books/Lee and Low, 2005, ages 2 to 6, contact publisher directly at 1-888-320-3190, ext. 26, for pricing and ordering information). In Africa, Lemba learns these dances, which have been passed down for generations, from his mother. In turn, he teaches children in a dance class when he moves to the United States. The children dance to tell the stories of the African deserts, savannas, mountains and forests. They roll their "backs like snakes ... flap arms like bird wings ... move like the wind." Co-authors Patricia Keeler and Julio Leitao have created a history that is neither dry nor didactic and is made yet more accessible by Keeler's watercolor-and-colored-pencil artwork. A wonderful read-and-move celebration for African-American History Month. A Spanish version Danza Africana is also available.

What's happened to the music at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts? Husband-and-wife team Peter and Cheryl Barnes reveal the answer in Maestro Mouse and the Mystery of the Missing Baton (VSP Books, 2005, ages 5 to 8, $16.95). The book introduces young readers to the workings of the National Symphony Orchestra as they follow a group of young mice searching for the conductor's lost baton. The rhyming verse and intriguing instruments (xylophone, timpani, French horns and so on) are sure to engage youngsters, as will the myriad details in the illustrations and the chance to find a tiny mouse hidden on each page. Commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in honor of its 75th birthday, the book provides a way to party with tubas and violins all year long.

Acclaimed author Anne Rockwell brings a different kind of music to Good Morning, Digger (Viking, 2005, ages 2 to 5 years, $15.99). The story vibrates with the "grrr-clank," "rolly-roll" and "rumble, grumble" of a yellow backhoe called Digger, a dump truck and a cement mixer as they prepare a city site. Neighborhood children watch as the hole dug by Digger transforms over time into a cement floor with "windows and parts of walls" and, after much "clanging and banging, welding and hammering," becomes a "brand-new community center." The story ends with the children calling for "yellow and yellow, and lots more yellow" to paint a mural of the day that Digger came. With a deft and color-bright brush, Melanie Hope Greenberg captures the energy and excitement of the process. Little ones enthralled by big machines will beg for frequent readings.

With lyrical writing and a hint of mystery, author Mara Rockliff invites young readers on a night journey with Jody and her father to discover Pieces of Another World (Sylvan Dell, 2005, ages 3 to 8, $15.95). "What are these pieces?" Jody wonders as Daddy drives deeper into the country while "quiet blackness wrapped around [them] like a blanket." Along the way, Jody sees a curious fox, hears a screech owl and watches a huge buck melt into the darkness. Finally, Daddy points out a streak of white in the sky--a meteor as little as a pebble. He calls it a "'hey-there' from outer space--a tiny piece of some distant world." Graceful, dark-toned watercolors by Salima Alikhan reinforce the sense of magic to be found in the natural world. A "Creative Minds" educational component in the back includes additional information about meteors and tips on organizing your own meteor-watching party.

In a unique counting book, Joy Hulme and illustrator Carol Schwartz explore Wild Fibonacci: Nature's Secret Code Revealed (Tricycle Press, 2005, ages 5 and up, $14.95). Hulme opens with a double-page spread explaining the mathematical pattern or "Fibonacci sequence" whereby "the next number in the sequence comes from adding the two numbers before it (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ... and so on)." Hulme then points out the prevalence in the natural world of curves based on the sequence: a tiger's claws, a ram's horns, even a seahorse's tail. Short poems provide factual information in an engaging word package as young readers learn about the curved pattern of elephant tusks, parrot beaks and seashells. Acrylic paintings by Carol Schwartz place the creatures in their natural habitats, enabling youngsters to learn more about the larger natural environment. Schwartz's superb artwork manages to be both accurate and lively and exhibits great attention to detail. Kids will have a great time counting the 55 curved beaks that enable the white ibis to "build a nest of sticks, scoop a marshy meal to eat, or feed new baby chicks."

Wild Washington (Annapolis Publishing Company, 2005, ages 10 and up, $18) provides an interesting perspective on both art and the natural world. This alphabet book for older readers includes poems and short descriptions of animal sculptures in metropolitan Washington. "A" is the anteater statue at the National Zoo, "B" is the stone bison on the Q Street bridge, "G" is the group of gulls on the Navy-Marine Memorial, and so on to "Z," the zebra on the carousel outside the Smithsonian Castle. The book packs a lot into a trim package. It is a volume of accomplished poetry by Nancy Arbuthnot, an animal-themed tour guide, complete with site map and addresses and an art history text with fascinating background on each sculpture. Subtly shaded black-and-white art by Cathy Abramson conveys the monumental quality of the sculptures.

Young bookworms may grow up to be impassioned literary critics and teachers. At least, that's the path taken by Maureen Corrigan, National Public Radio reviewer and Georgetown University English professor. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading (Random House, 2005, adult, $24.95) laces memoir with insights into books and the joys of reading. By turns witty, instructive and poignant, the book traces Corrigan's literary influences — her father's enjoyment of World War II novels, her Catholic school girl's love of value-laden fiction, her discovery of gritty detective fiction in graduate school. Her keen takes on Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice as "female extreme adventure novels" made me want to re-read these classics. As parents, we hear constantly about the importance of instilling good reading habits in our kids, as if a powerful book could be ingested, like a stalk of broccoli, for optimal health. I loved Corrigan's memoir for its exploration of the quirky, subversive side of reading.