A Pocket Full of Kisses: Concept Book

The book 'A Pocket Full of Kisses' by Audrey Penn is a squeal to her other book 'The Kissing Hand.' In 'A Pocket Full of Kisses,' the young raccoon and his mother from the first book are joined by a new little brother. Chester, the older son, wants to give Ronny, his new little brother, back. He is having trouble adjusting to having a little brother. He explains to his mother how he liked having Ronny as a younger brother at first but now tends to annoy Chester like most little brothers and sisters do. Everything that use to be just Chester's is now being shared with Ronny. His mother tries to explain how his little brother just wants to be like Chester because he is his older brother and to help make him feel a bit better, she gives him a Kissing Hand. A Kissing Hand is where Chester's mother opens up his hand and gives him a kiss in the middle of his palm to hold on to. This helps Chester and he smiles so big that he even blushes. Later on, Chester sees his mom give Ronny a Kissing Hand and he is very upset because the Kissing Hand was his and he did not want to share that with his little brother. At first, Chester does not think that his mother loves him anymore. So his mother explains how now they both have their own Kissing Hand that neither will share. This makes Chester worry that she will run out of Kissing Hands. His mother tells Chester that if you love someone, then your Kissing Hands will never ever run out. She even gives Chester something extra special for being a big brother, an extra Kissing Hand for his pocket just in case he needs extra later on.
While I do like this book, I think that the first book 'The Kissing Hand' needs to be read first for a young child to understand the meaning of the Kissing Hand and why it is so important to Chester. I'm not sure I would read this book to a class but I would have it as an option for free reading time. For a student with a new little brother or sister on the way or in the house, this would be a good book to help them understand that no matter what, their parents will always love them just the same. I can be hard for a young child to know there place in the family when a new member is added and this can be a difficult time for them. It is important for a teacher to know what is happening at home for them to help the student adjust at school.
Penn, Audrey (2004). A Pocket Full of Kisses. New York, NY: Scholastic.