The Kissing Hand 

by Audrey Penn, Illustrations by Ruth E. Harper

Review By Fatima Khan, Associate Producer, ReadingWithYourKids.com

I am AMAZED! Simply LOVE this book for the fact that it helped create a beautiful bond between me and my niece.

I read this book to my 5 year old niece, Sarah and she absolutely loved it. After reading the book, I kissed her hands to say goodbye and she did the same with me just as Chester raccoons does to her Mom in this book. We found the cutest way to say good night or good bye or at any time of separation after reading this book and we will cherish it for lifetime. It is a beautiful picture book for preschoolers and young children and I would recommend it for ages 5 to 7.

This book is a story of Chester Raccoon that is going to school for the first time. School is starting in the forest, but Chester Raccoon does not want to go. To help ease Chester’s fears, her mother shares a family secret called the Kissing Hand to give him the reassurance of her love any time his world feels a little scary. His mother kisses his palm, then she closes his hand and he takes her love to school with him. Chester feels less scared after that and before going inside the school he kisses his mother’s hand as well so his mother remembers that he loves her too. I love the concept of how his mom will always be there with him if he misses her as he can just put his palm on his cheek and he will feel better.

This book is filled with beautiful illustrations and pictures do a great job of setting the environment because the one big difference in raccoons going to school is that they are nocturnal so they go to school at night. This book can be used as a read aloud in the classroom in the beginning of the school year when some of the kids are having a hard time leaving their family. It would be a great book for teachers to share a bond with their class, while showing them that other feel the way they can. Using animals instead of humans catches the children’s attention, while still letting them relate to Chester. This book would definitely help many kids deal with separation.

This is such a sweet story. Every child, at some age, goes through a time where they miss their mothers. This can be a hard time for a child when they are at school and get sad because all they want is their mom and this book can help them ease their pain with the concept of Kissing Hand.

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