Bibliographic Citation: Penn, Audrey. The Kissing Hand. Illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak. Tanglewood Press, 2006. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1933718002.
Format: Hardcover
Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years
Annotation: A mommy raccoon lets her baby know that no matter where he is, she will
always be with him.
Reflection: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is the first in the series of “Kissing Hand Books” and the winner of the Ed Press Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing. The book is published by Child & Family Press which is an imprint of the Child Welfare League of America. In the forward of the book, Jean Kennedy Smith, Founder and Program Chairperson of Very Special Arts states, “A child entering a new school or going away to camp, a child entering foster care or residential care, a child facing a temporary separation from loved ones or the death of a parent, grandparent, or other special person, even a fearful adult, will find reassurance in these pages…communicating the message that all of us most need to hear- You are loved.” The Kissing Hand starts off with Chester Raccoon crying and telling his mom that he doesn’t want to go to school and wants to stay home with her. Mrs. Raccoon is very loving and reassuring, telling him that, “We all have to do things that we don’t want to do…even if they seem strange and scary at first.” This book is perfect for any kind of difficult situation that deals with separation anxiety and new challenges. She shows Chester the secret called, The Kissing Hand. Chester learns the secret of, The Kissing Hand from his mother, which was his mother’s kiss in the middle of his palm. Then his mother closes his fingers around the kiss and is told that whenever he feels lonely or needs a little loving from home to press his hand on his cheek and he will think, “Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.” Chester now knew that his mother would be with him wherever he went. The sweetest part of the book is at the end, when it was time for Chester to go to school and he stops and asks for his mom’s hand. He takes her hand and kisses it in the middle, folds her fingers around the kiss and tells his mom, “Now you have a Kissing Hand, too.” Mrs. Raccoon pressed her hand to her cheek and Chester’s kiss filled her heart with special words, “Chester loves you, Chester loves you, Chester loves you.”
Categorization Tags: Separation Anxiety, Mothers and Sons, Raccoons, Forest Animals, Kindergarten, Schools
No comments:
Post a Comment