Chester Raccoon and the Almost Perfect Sleepover

“Are we almost there?” Chester Raccoon asked his mother.

Chester is excited about going to his very first sleepover. After his mother drops him off at Pepper Opossum’s house with a Kissing Hand in his palm, Chester and his animal friends have a long day of playing games and eating snacks. But when the animals decide to bed down, Chester can’t go to sleep.

While his Kissing Hand has kept him from getting scared, he isn’t in his own bedroom, and he misses his family. When Chester returns home, Mrs. Raccoon welcomes her little cub and reassures him that his home is always there when he needs it.

Young readers will enjoy reading about the party fun and take comfort when Chester finds himself in a situation they can relate to.

Picture Book | Ages 3 – 7
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-939100-11-5 | 32 pages | $16.95
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-939100-12-2 | $10.99
Lexile Level: 620 | Guided Reading Level: K | Grade Level: 2 | Reading Recovery Level: 18

Meet Author Audrey Penn

Audrey Penn started her career as a ballerina dancing with the National Ballet, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and the Danny Diamond Dance Theatre. In 1980, she became too ill with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) to continue dancing but, because she had participated in children’s theatre, children’s dance, and always enjoyed children’s literature, she turned to writing children’s books for her creative outlet.

Her passion for advocacy for children continually molds her writing style and subject matter. She has created her writing program – The Writing Penn – into schools, libraries, and children’s hospitals, where she shapes and refines her story ideas in partnership with kids.

Today, Audrey has written over 13 books and is a New York Times bestselling author.

Meet Illustrator Barbara Gibson

An award-winning illustrator, Barbara Leonard Gibson was a freelance artist in the Baltimore-Washington area for twenty-five years. Originally from New York, and with a degree in Fine Art and Design from Carnegie Mellon University, she worked in many areas including historical illustration, children’s books, and magazines, cartooning, portraiture, wildlife illustration, natural sciences, advertising, fantasy, and science fiction.

All Books in The Kissing Hand Series

Book cover for The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Book cover for A Kiss Goodbye by Audrey Penn
Book cover for Chester Racoon and the Acorn Full of Memories by Audrey Penn
Cover of A Color Game for Chester Raccoon

Chester Raccoon and the Almost Perfect Sleepover Reviews

“A title that offers reassurance to young ones eager to attend their first sleepover.”

School Library Journal

“Present[s] a familiar childhood dilemma without shaming.”

Kirkus Reviews

“A resolution that should reassure timid readers who aren’t always as brave or independent as they would like to be.”

Publishers Weekly

 “Enthusiastically recommended for family, preschool, elementary school, and community library children’s picture book collections.”

Midwest Book Review