“The Kissing Hand,” by Audrey Penn.
Tanglewood Press, Terre Haute, Ind., 1993, 32 pages, grades K-1.
The first day of school is always filled with much emotion. Many students are eager to be back in school with their friends and are looking forward to many new experiences. But other children are frightened to go to school.
This is particularly true for the first day in kindergarten. These very small children are taken by their parents to school for the first time. It is a world that is completely new to them. Having lived their entire lives at home with their families, these children are often terribly afraid of the unknown. Their parents are sometimes as upset as the children, for they must let go of the youngsters as well.
Educators are aware of these sensitive feelings and try to be accommodating. Audrey Penn has written a beautiful book to help parents and children cope with this first day in school. The name of this lovely story is “The Kissing Hand.”
Chester Raccoon lives in his pleasant house on the edge of the woods, with his parents. His mother is preparing him for his first “day” of school. Big tears roll down Chester’s face as his mother tells him that he will be going to school that night (with the other nocturnal animals!). The wise owl is the teacher and Chester will make many new friends and learn about different subjects.
But Chester doesn’t want to leave his comfortable home and venture into an unknown world. He likes the world he has always lived in, and doesn’t want to explore new things. He tells his mother that he wants to stay home and play with his toys and read his familiar books.
Mrs. Raccoon tries to sooth Chester’s feelings and understands that he needs a special gift to give him the strength to go to school. So she begins telling him a story that her mother taught her many years ago.
As Chester wipes away his tears, Mrs. Raccoon begins the tale. She takes Chester’s hand and opens his small fingers. Then she lovingly kisses the center of his palm and tells him that whenever he feels frightened, he can put his kissed hand up to his cheek and feel the love of his mother.
This greatly comforts Chester as he can feel the warmth of his mother’s love each time his hand touches his cheek. With this, he feels that he may be courageous enough to go to school for the first time.
That night as he stands outside of his house, Chester sees all the other animals running toward the school. Now eager to join them, he turns and sees his gracious mother standing there. But before he leaves, he turns and gives his mother a beautiful gesture of love. What is it?
What does Chester do? Why does his generous mother deserve this sign of filial affection? How does his family’s kindness allow Chester to be happy going to school?
Have you ever not wanted to go to school? How did you get over this problem? How does Chester conquer his fears? To find out, go to the library and check out “The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn.
This is one of the classic picture books about the pains and joys of the first day of school. The pictures are beautiful and comforting. We see Chester and his mother working through all of his anxieties on this important day. Audrey Penn gives us a wonderful story to comfort both children and parents on the first day of school. I hope you get a chance to read it. It is a lovely book. Enjoy!
