A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon

by Audrey Penn, Barbara Leonard Gibson (Illustrator)

Overview

During the last 20 years, parents and teachers have passed along the secret of the Kissing Hand to children facing first days of kindergarten, first grade, and other separations. Now younger children can get in on Mama Raccoon's secret and find comfort in A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon, a board-book adaptation of the original picture book.

Chester could feel his mother's kiss
Leap straight into his heart.
"With a Kissing Hand," said Chester's mom,
"We'll never be apart."

"Just press your hand upon your cheek
And feel that loving glow.
It's Mommy saying, 'I love you,'
Wherever you may go."

The Kissing Hand has become a children's classic that has touched the lives of millions of children and their parents. A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon conveys the heart of the story in rhyming verse, perfect for read-aloud and easy for even the little ones to remember and recite. With illustrations by Barbara Gibson that capture the warmth and beauty of the original artwork, toddlers now share in the benefits from Mrs. Raccoon's secret for making a child feel safe and secure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933718774
Publisher:	Tanglewood Publishing, Inc.
Publication date:	04/15/2014
Pages:	14
Sales rank:	6,994
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Audrey Penn is the author of The New York Times bestseller, The Kissing Hand, and its sequels. Barbara L. Gibson is the illustrator of three Chester Raccoon titles, including A Pocket Full of Kisses and Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully. This is her fifth collaboration with Audrey Penn. They both live in Olney, MD.

Read an Excerpt

Chester could feel his mother’s kiss
Leap straight into his heart.
“With a Kissing Hand,” said Chester’s mom,
“We’ll never be apart.

“Just press your hand upon your cheek
And feel that loving glow.
It’s Mommy saying, ‘I love you,’
Wherever you may go.”

Editorial Reviews

Chester Raccoon is back, in an abbreviated board book format. While most of the books in the “Kissing Hand” series” offer a starting point for discussion between child and parent, this adaptation of the children’s classic falls short. Chester is worried about starting school, Owl’s school to be exact, and wants to stay home by Mom’s side instead. No further mention of Owl’s school is made until the last page, where the school, its headmaster Owl, and the pupils are colorfully illustrated. There is no focus on the familiar animals or the school, which of course, is nocturnal. The last double-page spread calls out for a few tweet tweets, hoot hoots, and more. Young readers might have benefitted from a discussion of Chester’s classmates of birds, frogs, opossums, squirrels, and others. As written, the connection to school is weak and opportunities to increase vocabulary and print awareness are missed. Although the book format is most welcome for young children, the story feels incomplete. More would have been better as the story as written is less than expected. Activities for classroom use, written by classroom teachers and used for the entire series, can be found on the publisher’s website. Reviewer: Suzanne Javid; Ages 2 to 4.

Children's Literature - Suzanne Javid

2014-05-19
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl's night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, "With a Kissing Hand… / We'll never be apart." The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson's work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl's tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn't look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews