ALA Booklist (Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 CST 1991)

Here's a delightful story with messages about love that transcend its picture-book format. Mr. Hatch is a dour sort who sleepwalks through life until one Valentine Day when the postman delivers a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates with a card that says, Somebody loves you. The gift has a profound effect on the unsociable man; the thought of a secret admirer puts a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He begins chatting up his co-workers and lending a helping hand wherever he can. Months pass, and the secret admirer doesn't surface, but Mr. Hatch barely notices because he's too involved with his new life. However, when the postman shamefacedly admits that he delivered the Valentine to the wrong house, Mr. Hatch goes into a tailspin. Nobody loved him after all. His new friends, who learn the reason for his retreat, take matters into their own hands. In an It's a Wonderful Life ending, the town shows Mr. Hatch just what he means to them. In engaging prose, Spinelli brings some sophisticated concepts down to a child's level, and certainly children will be attracted by Yalowitz' innovative artwork. Soft, textured colors and elongated shapes are uniquely combined to make fresh pictures brimming with feeling. A good discussion piece, and just good storytelling, too. (Reviewed Nov. 15, 1991)

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1992)

When a huge valentine filled with candy arrives from a secret admirer, Mr. Hatch, a reclusive bachelor, recognizes that everyone is a potential friend and becomes a changed person. The illustrations, with their stylized, sausage-shaped people and pastel tones, impart subtle nuances of humor that play nicely against the story's exaggerations.

Kirkus Reviews

Colorless Mr. Hatch—who works in a shoelace factory and eats a cheese and mustard sandwich for lunch every day with, just occasionally, a prune—is jarred from his reserve by receiving a huge Valentine box of candy with a card that says only, ``Somebody loves you.'' Amazed, he samples it, shares it at work and, buoyed by his friendly reception, sympathetically helps several people out on the way home (e.g., he watches the newspaper stall so that its proprietor can take his cold to the doctor). He's soon baking brownies, hosting a neighborhood picnic, and reading to the local kids. Then the postman arrives with the news that the candy was delivered to the wrong address, putting poor Mr. Hatch into a funk; but his devoted new friends rally round to bring him back into their cheerful society. Told with warmth and a light touch, the story easily transcends its predictability. It's much enhanced by Yalowitz's mellow color- pencil illustrations. His unique elongated characters with their extra-tall heads are at once animated and serene; the smooth clarity of his scenes is enlivened with many amusing details. A charming book with a real plot, its amiable tone beautifully complemented by the intriguing illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8)"