It's never too early to learn about love.

A shelfful of new children's books celebrate Valentine's Day with hugs and kisses for pets, parents and friends:

• "Pepper's Valentine Surprise" (Little Simon, $8.99, ages 4-7) by Linda Bleck

In this interactive book, Pepper the puppy gets in the way of his child friend Lily's Valentine's Day party planning. But in the end, he gets a special treat.

• "Be Mine: A Book of Rockin' Valentines" (Disney Press, $5.99, ages 8-12)

For all the young Hannah Montana fans out there, this book-like item is a collection of punch-out valentines and stickers to give to crushes and friends. Tweens can be a groupie of the hit Disney television show with valentines like: "From one superstar to another ... Happy Valentine's Day!"

• "Hug Time" (Little, Brown and Company, $14.99, all ages) by Patrick McDonnell

A kitten travels around the world to give hugs to every living thing he can find, from a squirrel to a baobab tree. His plan to give the whole world a hug takes him from Africa to the North Pole on an eye-opening embrace-a-thon. The book comes from the creator of the popular "Mutts" comic strip.

• "Valentine Surprise" (Walker & Company, $12.95, ages 3-6) by Corinne Demas and illustrated by R. W. Alley

In this book about art and love, young Lily learns that mistakes can be beautiful. None of her valentines come out perfectly, but she finds a way to give Mommy something even better than a single heart cutout.

• "Bear Hugs: Romantically Ridiculous Animal Rhymes" (Aladdin Paperbacks, $6.99, ages 4-8) by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Suzanne Watts

All animals get a verse-worth of smooching in this book about love between turtles, rhinos and even a Jersey cow. The series of quick poems bring new meaning to "love birds" on the penguin page, for example. "She waddles the isle / in high penguin style, / holding a snow-white bouquet. / Her ivory dress / cost thousands, no less ... / or that's what the sea lions say." ... And guess what the penguin groom wore?

• "Be Mine" (Scholastic, Inc., $3.99, ages 9-12) by Sophia Kelly and illustrated by Jim Talbot

Who better to celebrate Valentine's Day with than your tiny toy pets? This activity book lets kids connect the dots, decode secret messages, look for hidden hearts in a picture and more. The answers are in the back: but no cheating!