Local Author Releases Keepsake Valentine’s Book for Children

After a busy year running her marketing agency, Next Door Creations, Connecticut children’s author Lauryn Alyssa Wendus felt the pull to create something lighter and just for kids.

As this past December approached, she decided—on a bit of a whim—to make something playful. That idea became EmailsFromSanta.com, where she quietly surprised more than 200 families with personalized holiday messages for their children.

The experience reminded her how meaningful small, thoughtful moments can be, and she didn’t want the magic to end with Christmas. Wanting to create a home for that feeling, Wendus later created A Ping of Magic, a place for whimsical notes like tooth fairy messages, leprechaun letters, and birthday surprises.

When Valentine’s Day came into view, an email didn’t feel quite right.

“I’ve always loved the idea of giving a book instead of a card,” Wendus says. “Many of my children’s books are often gifted that way—especially at baby showers—as something meaningful that lasts.”

That idea became A Strawberry Valentine Story, a gentle picture book about a little mouse who finds something red, shiny, and shaped like a heart. Convinced it must be very important, he carries it carefully everywhere he goes, even when a curious bird seems to think it’s something else entirely.

Designed to be more than a one-day read, A Strawberry Valentine Story includes a To / From page and space for a handwritten note, making it a Valentine meant to be written in and returned to year after year.

children’s book series. She comes from a family line of storytellers and is a descendant of early 20th-century children’s author Charlotte Steiner.