Another beautiful and fun book from Audrey Penn. Chester can always rely on Mom to share her wisdom.

With its engaging illustrations and delightful narrative, Chester Raccoon and the Almost Perfect Sleepover is sure to become a much-loved, oft-read picture book for younger readers.

"Have fun at your overday," Mrs. Raccoon told Chester. "I'll pick you up the moment the sun sets."

Children will no doubt relate to both Chester's enjoyment of fun with friends as well as his feelings of being lonesome for his mother, brother, and home. The text lends itself to wonderful discussions about many things - differences between nocturnal and other animals, food sources, etc. - including the very common reaction that Chester experienced and loving way in which it was handled.

I cannot wait to add this book to my classroom library and I know that it will become a staple in my fellow teachers' classrooms, as well.

The PDF of this book to be published in May 2017 was generously provided to me by Tanglewood Publishing via NetGalley for review.

I'm the oddball who isn't a huge fan of the Kissing Hand book, but I loved how this book centers around a little raccoon who isn't quite ready to spend the day (night for humans) with his friends yet. Homesickness kicks in, and Mrs. Rabbit has to walk him back to his mother.

I guess little ones will giggle at the "stinky puffs" of the skunk, but I was more startled by the mother using "might be politer" instead of "more polite." I ended up looking up the usage in Oxford to see if there's a difference in usage by location.

Yay for another book by a small, independent publisher in the Midwest! Tanglewood is located in Terre Haute, Indiana, only a short drive up the road from me.

This is a new addition to the Kissing Hand series. When Chester Raccoon is invited to an "overday" (spending the day at his friend's home) at his friend Pepper Opossum's tree, he will be away from mother raccoon for the full day. She kisses his hand and closes it on her kiss as he is leaving. Chester joins all his friends for a day full of fun games and activities. When they all get tired, they go to Pepper's tree and curl up in her hollow. All his friends fall asleep except for Chester. He remembers his mother's Kissing Hand, but he still feels homesick and a tear escapes from his eye. When Pepper's mom notices how sad he is, she enlists the help of Mrs. Rabbit to take Chester home. Once home and in his mother's arms, he has not problem falling asleep across the hollow from his brother. Chester learns that it okay to be nervous when you experience new things and not to be afraid to ask for help. This is a great book to read to young children who might be nervous or scared about a new activity or to be leaving mom whether to go to a friend or relative's house or even to school. The illustrations are adorable and the animals are so cute. I especially liked Sassafrass the skunk who kept "stinky puffing" when she was nervous, tired or giggling. This is also a good book about teaching tolerance for friends and those who might be different. A great book for families of young children as well as for kindergarten and early primary classrooms.

I was not a child or picture book age when The Kissing Hand came out. I did not get to experience until I was an adult in my first children’s library. And like all the other librarian’s i was immediately in love. Until just now, I had no idea there was more than one book. But this new book was still a lovely read. Chester has been invited for an overday (a sleepover for nocturnal animals). He plays and has fun, and has his kissing hand to help him though. Alas it is not enough, and Chester asks to go home to his family. It’s an adorable book to add to the series. I do have one complaint, the title. Throughout the book it is called an overday. It is only called a sleepover once by the narrator. I think the title should be changed to the almost perfect overday since the very first page explains it’s a sleepover.

Added Goodreads
Added Litsy

I loved the cover of this book. I loved the premise of it. It seems on face value alone to be useful as a way of helping children manage their own worries around 'sleepovers' or having to spend time away from the familiar home life they might be used to.

Sadly, the narrative never really kicks in. This book lacks pace and doesn't hold a young readers interest quite enough to be used as a whole class reading book.

I hate to write so negatively about a book and fortunately there is a silver lining in this book. The poem it closes on is a lovely, short piece which sums up the plot nicely. In fact, the poem could easily be stretched out to make a whole book for reading at nursery level. That, I feel, is the book this should have been.

Summary:
In this latest addition to The Kissing Hand series, Chester Raccoon is invited to an "overday" (a play on the word overnight) at his friend Pepper Opossum's tree. Chester joins all of their friends for a day full of fun games and activities. When it comes time to sleep, Chester remembers his mother's Kissing Hand, but he still feels very sad and homesick to be sleeping away from his family. In the end, an adult rabbit takes Chester back home where he can sleep soundly with his mother and brother. He learned that it was okay to be nervous and afraid when being away from his mother for the first time.

Potential age group:
Grades kindergarten through third grade (ages 4-9).

Genre:
Fiction

Topic:
Being away from your family/mother for the first time.

Curricular uses:
The names in this story lend themselves to a lesson on alliteration. The poem at the end of the story can be used as an example of how a story can be summarized in the form of a poem. The students can also compare/contrast the story to the poem. This book can also be used at the beginning of the school year, when young students are sad about being away from home.

Interactions of text and images:
The illustrations in this book were colorful, detailed, and beautiful. The illustrations will help younger readers to visualize the story as it is being read. It can also help students to tell the similarities and differences between the different animals present in the story.

My take on this book:
In my opinion, this is a great story for primary grades students. There are many ways this can be used in the classroom as an anchor text for specific reading skills. I also think that adding the element of the stinky skunk throughout the book added some humor that younger kids will enjoy immensely. The only component that really bothered me about this book was the fact that it used the word "politer" instead of "more polite". I'm not sure that "politer" is grammatically correct or even a word. It is important to model correct speech in children's books. Overall, a wonderful story that makes a great addition to the series.

I have always liked the Chester books. This was not one of my favorites but still a good bedtime story. The poem in the back was my favorite part. Most likely will buy this for my elementary library.

Chester Raccoon and the Almost Perfect Sleepover by Audrey Penn

Another Chester Raccoon adventure, this one touching on the fun and jitters that often accompany a first sleepover, or in Chester's case an almost "overday". After the excitement of the day wears off, Chester finds himself thinking about his own hollow, while his fellow forest-mates slumber around him and with his mother's Kissing Hand pressed tightly to his cheek, homesickness overcomes him. A tale that will resonate with all and a excellent purchase for any library where The Kissing Hand was popular!

Adorbs from start to finish! I loved the story of the critter friends and their sleepover and the one that has an occasional 'stinky puff' situation. Great illustrations seal the deal on this one.