My favorite translation of Valentine’s Day in Spanish is El día del amor y la amistad, love and friendship day. Doesn’t the addition of friendship make the red-heart-and-sweets-day even more special? Friends have always been an important part of my life: when I was growing up in El Paso, when I taught, and when I was a university administrator. I’m too private to be a Facebook person, but now that I work at home, through phone and e-mail, in addition to my family and long-time friends, I have amigas and amigos who are book friends: authors, illustrators, librarians, educators, members of the publishing world, and my special Día buddies who promote bookjoy all year long. May we cherish those who help us laugh and who believe in us.