A Pocket Full of Kisses

by Audrey Penn, Barbara Gibson (Illustrator)

Overview

In this tender sequel to the New York Times bestseller and children's classic The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn provides parents with another tale of love and reassurance to share with their children. Chester Raccoon has a baby brother—and the baby brother is taking over his territory. When Chester sees his mother give his baby brother a Kissing Hand—his Kissing Hand—he is overcome with sadness, but Mrs. Raccoon soothes his fears with her own special brand of wisdom, finding just the right way to let Chester know he is deeply loved. Brought to life by Barbara Leonard Gibson's warm illustrations, this story is perfect for families who are adjusting to all the changes new members can bring.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933718026
Publisher:	Tanglewood
Publication date:	05/15/2006
Series:	The Kissing Hand Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	298,536
Product dimensions:	8.16(w) x 10.44(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	AD830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

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.

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.

Editorial Reviews

Following up her New York Times–bestselling picture book The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn teams up with illustrator Barbara Leonard Gibson to tell the sweet-natured tale of Chester Raccoon, an older brother who wonders if there are enough kisses to go around between him and his sibling. When Chester expresses frustration with little Ronny, Mrs. Raccoon reassures him with kind words and a Kissing Hand. This tides Chester over until he spots Mama giving Ronny a Kissing Hand, too, and the bewildered raccoon wonders if Mama still loves him at all. But with more tender parenting and a special gift for just him, Chester learns that Mama's love is truly never ending. With Gibson's lush artwork bringing to life the adorable Raccoon family and their green-and-yellow-hued forest, Penn offers a reassuring ode to a parent's love that will give any child ample doses of comfort. This read, published by the Child Welfare League of America, is sure to be a welcome addition to before-bed reading or parent-child sharing times.

bn.com

When Chester the raccoon was introduced to readers in The Kissing Hand, he was wrestling with the difficult transition of starting school. In this sequel, Chester has another hurdle to overcome: sibling rivalry. It's bad enough that his new brother Ronny is a pest ("He pulls my tail and talks to my friends and follows me everywhere I go!" Chester complains). But the hero is thrown for a loop when he sees Mrs. Raccoon giving Ronny a Kissing Hand-a smooch in the middle of her child's palm, which, as in the first book, sends "the warmth of that kiss [rushing] from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart"-previously reserved just for Chester. "How come you gave the baby my Kissing Hand?" Chester wails. But with his mother's patient reassurance and an analogy borrowed from nature (there will always be enough love to go around, just as the sun never runs out of light), he begins to believe she won't run out. There are certainly more bracing-and less obvious-treatments of this subject. But as the many fans of the original book proved, Penn understands the powerful pull of old-fashioned sentiment; and Gibson's illustrations, more understated than that of the artists' work in the first book, balances the sentimental message with her realistic renderings of nature. The flowery, poignant prose and meticulously detailed, benevolent-looking forest settings seem to spring straight from the heart. Ages 4-8. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly