A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon

During the last twenty 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 will benefit from Mrs. Raccoon’s secret for making a child feel safe and secure.

Audrey Penn takes her one-woman educational program, the Writing Penn, into schools, libraries, and children’s hospitals where she shapes and refines her story ideas in partnership with kids. She is also highly sought after as a conference keynote speaker by groups of teachers and other professionals who work with children.

Author Website

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.