It is the focus of early education classrooms across America every autumn for two decades.

* The book has been given BACK to parents by their children as they went off to college, and is now treasured by their grandchildren. * USA Today, 2004 - The US Army created a 'Kissing Hand Initiative', distributing over 40,000 books to serving parents overseas in a tote bag kit, with a camcorder and letters from both author and artist - so parents could record themselves reading to and kissing their children. It is also in Spanish, and was distributed into schools in Cuba. * The Kissing Hand is now an ALA 'classic'. * After '9-11' struck, The Kissing Hand remained at #1 on the NY Times list for 16 weeks, and was recommended by the ALA as one of the best family resources. She independently designed and painted this as a 24 page book, as requested by the author, but unknowingly another artist was asked to add to it later. Love for her own newborn baby, only 4 months old when Ruth began, fueled the warmth in each image. Understanding this was indeed a very sweet story, she used oil pastels for a special softness for the furry animals. The whole book was painted using only four acrylic colors, mixed with care, and she worked to create each image to look as soft as a young toddler’s heart. These resources are provided for teachers to help students with severe disabilities participate. Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories A Pocket Full of Kisses A Kiss Goodbye A Bedtime Kiss. In the planning of the book, Ruth chose to work in bright primary colors to appeal to the very young. The text and graphics are adapted from the original source. The Kissing Hand A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon.

The kissing hand for chester raccoon