Valentine and Aroha: Two Little Yorkies Behind a New Zealand Children’s Book Series
If you are part of the Yorkshire Terrier community in New Zealand, there is a good chance you already know that Yorkies have a way of becoming much more than pets.
They follow us everywhere. They watch everything. They seem to know exactly when something is happening, and despite their tiny size, they usually have very definite opinions about it.
That is certainly true of Valentine and Aroha.
Both are Yorkshire Terriers and part of our New Zealand Yorkie community. They are also now helping inspire a growing children’s book series called The Adventures of Valentine
A little Yorkie with a very big story
Valentine is tiny, curious and full of personality.
She lives in Whangamatā with Aroha and their much bigger friend Max. Their home, the nearby forest, the estuary, the beach and the everyday things that happen around them provide much of the feeling behind the stories.
The books are fiction, but anyone who lives with a Yorkshire Terrier will probably recognise some familiar Yorkie qualities.
- Curiosity.
- Determination.
- A need to know what everyone else is doing.
And, of course, the ability to make themselves the centre of the household without even trying.
Aroha is slightly taller and a little calmer than Valentine. She is often the quieter companion beside her, while Valentine tends to be the one wondering what is going on and what she should do next.
What is The Adventures of Valentine about?
The series was created to give children stories they can enjoy while also opening the door to conversations with the adults around them.
The idea is simple.
Children often find it easier to talk about something when it is happening to a character first.
Rather than asking a child directly how they feel about something, a story can begin with Valentine experiencing it.
- What would Valentine do?
- Why do you think she felt like that?
- Has something like that ever happened to you?
Those conversations are part of what we call Heart Chat.
The books are designed to be read together, giving children and adults opportunities to stop, wonder, ask questions and talk.
The central message sitting quietly underneath the series is:
I’m Enough.
Children can make mistakes. They can change their minds. They can need help. They can still be learning.
And they can still know they are enough.
Book One: The Screen That Wouldn’t Sleep
The first book in the series is The Adventures of Valentine: The Screen That Wouldn’t Sleep.
It explores something familiar in many homes.
Screens.
Valentine begins to notice how easily a screen can keep asking for her attention and what she may be missing while she is focused on it.
It is not a story telling children that screens are bad.
Instead, it creates space to talk about attention, choices, feelings and finding balance.
For families, that can be a much gentler way to begin a conversation than simply telling a child to put a device away.
More adventures are coming
The second story, Valentine and the Sea That Kept Moving, takes Valentine, Aroha and Max into another adventure, with new experiences and new conversations waiting underneath the story.
Future books continue the same approach.
- Friendship.
- Confidence.
- Trust.
- Choices.
- Feelings.
- How people treat one another.
- And the small moments children encounter as they grow.
The stories do not try to give children a set of rules for life. They are there to encourage thinking, talking and learning together.
The real Yorkies behind the stories
While the adventures themselves are fictional, Valentine and Aroha are very real.
They are much loved members of their family and part of the wider Yorkshire Terrier community here in New Zealand.
That makes this project especially lovely for us as Yorkie people.
We are watching two little dogs we know become the inspiration for characters children can grow up with.
And if you happen to be in Whangamatā, you may even see Valentine and Aroha out walking with their family.
They may be small, but like most Yorkshire Terriers, they are very hard to miss once you know them.
From the Yorkie community to children and families
At its heart, The Adventures of Valentine is a New Zealand story series inspired by the personality, companionship and everyday presence of dogs that are very much part of family life.
For those of us who already love Yorkshire Terriers, that connection feels especially natural.
We know how much character can fit inside such a tiny dog.
Valentine simply happens to be taking hers into books.
You can learn more about the series and follow Valentine and Aroha at valentinekidsbooks.com or on Facebook.
