Monday, September 12, 2011

A Kiss Goodbye by Audrey Penn and Barbara L. Gibson

Chester does not want to move. He likes living in his tree. His mother tells him to think of it as an adventure, but Chester isn't so sure about that - he's had plenty of adventures that didn't turn out exactly right! Maybe he should stay behind. If he did that, he'd miss his mom...but if he moves, he'll miss his home. With his mom's gentle advice, Chester learns how to say goodbye to a place that he loves and open his heart to a new home.

Moving is a fact of life for many children, but that doesn't make it easy for them. It can be hard to picture living in a new place and leaving everything that they know behind. In A Kiss Goodbye, Chester's mother doesn't negate Chester's feelings of worry, but she gently reassures him to give the new home a try. When I saw the cover (and the red-marked tree that indicated why they would be moving), I was afraid that the moving story would be overshadowed by a story about environmental encroachment. It does mention the tree cutting, but only briefly; the focus stays on Chester and his family's move. This book is a natural fit for anyone who has read and enjoyed Chester story in The Kissing Hand and A Pocketful of Kisses and a soothing story for any kids who are nervous about moving to a new house.

I read a review copy at NetGalley courtesy of Tanglewood.

Read it with:
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
A Pocketful of Kisses by Audrey Penn
It's Moving Day! by Pamela Hickman
The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Forest Animals by Deborah Hodge

No comments:

Post a Comment