The Kissing Hand

Chester was afraid to go to school. Mrs. Raccoon took Chester’s left hand and spread open his tiny fingers into a fan. Leaning forward, she kissed Chester right in the middle of his palm. Chester felt his mother’s kiss rush from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart. Even his silky black mask tingled with a special warmth. Mrs. Raccoon smiled. “Now,” she told Chester, “Whenever you feel lonely, and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your cheek and think, ‘Mommy loves you.’ And that very kiss will jump to your face and fill you with toasty warm thoughts.”     

Excerpt from The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.