Defining Moment: Kissing Hand

In first grade, I hated going to school. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Timm and she had tuna every day for lunch and it made the entire room smell. In addition to the icky tuna smell, first grade was the first year that I had to go to school for the whole day, instead of half-day kindergarten. I have always had a close relationship with my family, and the thought of spending my days in Mrs. Timm’s classroom instead of at home made me miserable. The first month of school, I would leave my house crying every day because I had to say “goodbye” for a few hours.

My mom found a book, “The Kissing Hand,” which is story about a little raccoon that would rather stay at home or play with friends than go to school. Needless to say, I really related to this raccoon. His mom kissed his hand in order to help him feel the warmth and comfort of home while he had to go to school. Whenever he missed his mom, she told him to put his hand on his cheek so that he could feel her love and be reminded of warm thoughts. At the end of the story, the little raccoon kisses his mother’s hand, too, and they are bonded by the love that they share even though they are far away. After reading the story, my mom would kiss my hand before school each day. Like the raccoon, I imagined the kiss radiating into my palm so that I could carry it with me throughout the day.

Ironically, first grade was when we were first taught how to read books in school. By the end of the year, I could read “The Kissing Hand” all by myself, and second grade seemed far less treacherous. This book was one of the first books that I truly connected to and remember to this day. At the end of elementary school, in sixth grade, I listed “children’s author and illustrator” as my future career in our yearbook. I love and remember many books from my childhood, and I recall my parents reading to me every night :), but this story in particular has a special sentimental significance to me. I truly latched on to the storyline and identified with the characters, which helped me transition to accepting that I had to go to school each day.

For me, this example speaks to the importance of connecting with your audience when writing. As we have read in Ong’s book and discussed in class, the author is not present while the reader is reading, and the reader is not present while the writer is writing. As a result, conveying thoughts and feelings through writing has a profound impact on the way the text is interpreted.

Whether the exciting exposition of an action-adventure novel, the dramatic loss of a character in a tragic play, or the heartwarming children’s story about a loving mother raccoon, it is imperative that the author can connect with his or her audience. Reading “The Kissing Hand” was a defining moment for me because it influenced my personal life. And my willingness to go to first grade and to understand the power of language and emotion through text has impacted who I am and how I write today.