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Frances the Badger
Bread and Jam for Frances
The classic funny story about a stubborn little badger with very particular tastes in food. Frances is a fussy eater. In fact, the only thing she likes is bread and jam. She won't touch her squishy soft-boiled egg. She trades away her chicken-salad sandwich at lunch. She turns up her nose at boring veal cutlets. Unless her parents can come up with a plan, Frances just might go on eating bread and jam forever! Join the generations of families that have laughed along as Frances sings "Jam on biscuits, jam on bread, Jam is the thing I like most, Jam is sticky, jam is sweet, Jam is tasty, jam’s a treat—raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, I’m very FOND…OF…JAM!"
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
46 people are currently reading
3945 people want to read
About the author
Russell Hoban
184 books408 followersRussell Conwell Hoban was an American expatriate writer. His works span many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magical realism, poetry, and children's books. He lived in London, England, from 1969 until his death. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 612 reviews
August 17, 2012
One of the most perfectly written picture books - perhaps one of the most perfectly written books ever. Every single word is meticulously chosen, carefully placed on the page, like an artist painting a masterpiece. Wipe away the familiar story for a moment, the (just right) illustrations of badgers (?), and the now familiar rite of childhood trope of picky eaters, and rather think about this book as a long, free verse poem. It's a rich, lush, descriptive book that aches to be read aloud, not just in a sing-songy "I'm reading to kids" way, but in a poetic manner, like a bard or a poetry slammer. I know, it seems silly, but think about the way Russell Hoban chose his words, placed on them page, purposefully slashing sentences in half to add to the strong, declarative tone. Consider Albert's lunch, with Frances dismal bread and jam as a short, sad comparison. Bread and Jam for Frances is filled with this kind of incredible, thoughtful, deliberate writing. It's monumental.
October 12, 2015
This is perhaps my favorite Frances so far. Frances does not like eggs and makes up a little song:
I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,
I do not like you lots of ways
And I could do for many days
Without eggs.
I can relate, Frances, I can relate.
The illustrations are wonderful, with Frances eating her toast and jam and staring with no small level of concern at her soft-boiled egg.
Frances is a picky eater and pretty soon she is turning down her string beans and all sorts of other things and eating bread and jam instead. But her parents have a way of dealing with this and getting Frances to eat new things. Frances has the calmest, cleverest parents ever. Every child should have the pleasure of discovering Frances and her delightful family.
I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,
I do not like you lots of ways
And I could do for many days
Without eggs.
I can relate, Frances, I can relate.
The illustrations are wonderful, with Frances eating her toast and jam and staring with no small level of concern at her soft-boiled egg.
Frances is a picky eater and pretty soon she is turning down her string beans and all sorts of other things and eating bread and jam instead. But her parents have a way of dealing with this and getting Frances to eat new things. Frances has the calmest, cleverest parents ever. Every child should have the pleasure of discovering Frances and her delightful family.
November 22, 2019
One of my favourite books to read as a child! I just loved reading about all the yummy things Frances got to eat from her lunchbox at school, especially at the end! A great book to encourage kids to try new things!
March 8, 2020
Bonus star because I started to read Albert's lunch to my 23 yo son and he said "oh I remember those books... I loved them!" The thing is, I don't even remember reading them to him, or him bringing them home from school. Heck, I don't even remember this particular story very well.
(The only thing that I for sure remember is that this is where I learned that 'Frances' can be a girl's name... though it took me a few more years before I noticed the spelling difference from 'Francis.')
Oh those brown bag lunches do sound wonderful, though. Cucumber & cream cheese on rye, two fruits, cup custard, olives, etc.... These kids must've walked to school and had an active morning recess to be hungry enough for all that food!
(What exactly is cup custard, though? Did Albert's mom actually pack homemade custard in its baking dish? They didn't have pudding cups in 1964 did they?)
(The only thing that I for sure remember is that this is where I learned that 'Frances' can be a girl's name... though it took me a few more years before I noticed the spelling difference from 'Francis.')
Oh those brown bag lunches do sound wonderful, though. Cucumber & cream cheese on rye, two fruits, cup custard, olives, etc.... These kids must've walked to school and had an active morning recess to be hungry enough for all that food!
(What exactly is cup custard, though? Did Albert's mom actually pack homemade custard in its baking dish? They didn't have pudding cups in 1964 did they?)
January 24, 2022
5 enthusiastic stars. This book is precise and elegant, with some of the best food writing in literature. Frances’s father rhapsodizes about his soft-boiled egg at breakfast. Her friend Albert is a true gourmand who savors each bite. And the school lunches – oh, to be a badger:
All of this arranged on a lace doily, with a little vase of violets.
Now that my nephew is learning to read, the books are getting so good; I’m not sure this one will make it into his hands. I also made the mistake of reading it after lunch and it derailed my focus for the rest of the day.
“I have a thermos bottle with cream of tomato soup,” she said.
“And a lobster-salad sandwich on thin slices of white bread.
I have celery, carrot sticks, and black olives,
And a little cardboard shaker of salt for the celery.
And two plums and a tiny basket of cherries.
And vanilla pudding with chocolate sprinkles
And a spoon to eat it with.”
“That’s a good lunch,” said Albert.
All of this arranged on a lace doily, with a little vase of violets.
Now that my nephew is learning to read, the books are getting so good; I’m not sure this one will make it into his hands. I also made the mistake of reading it after lunch and it derailed my focus for the rest of the day.
September 7, 2007
Even though I don't actually like most of the foods that comprise Frances' particular diet (barring bread and jam, of course), the book always made me really hungry anyway. Adventures in food are such a huge part of growing up, and no book I can presently recall understands, or represents with such joy, the endlessly aggravating, impossible to predict, and hilariously beautiful relationship that kids have with their lunch.
January 5, 2024
Vi uma postagem aleatória no Facebook sobre esse livro e quis saber porque a Frances estava chorando se ela gosta tanto de pão com geleia, bom, descobri aí fica a seu cargo se quer descobrir também.
Disponível no archive.org
Disponível no archive.org
September 26, 2022
Great book to read for dealing with picky eaters!
December 12, 2021
This is like half a joke, but also it's also half NOT. Mostly I just don't want to do my real work:
"Bread and Jam for Frances" is a story about the sacredness of eating together. It also looks at the fine balance between who we are as individuals and honoring our loves, our expressions, and our desires and our need for community, sharing in a collective experience, and finding a sense of belonging with others through trying new things that might be unfamiliar (and possibly self-betraying?) but ultimately may lead to a sense of connection.
Other themes include the different senses of connection we get from sharing food in the home vs. in public with friends/colleagues/classmates and how food is a medium in which we mediate and experience different forms of closeness, distance, and intimacies.
Through the usage and the form of song, improvisation, and lyrical choice, the character Frances also brings up questions of our relationship to food, our reckoning with the once-alive nature of what we consume, the anthropomorphizing of food as we juggle the need to nourish our bodies with other animals and plants, the reality of being part of a great ecosystem of living things, and our uncomfortable yet convenient and privileged place as the ones who decide (or have put ourselves in the place to decide?) the hierarchy and fate of animals, plants, laborers, products, and systems:
“Poached eggs on toast, / Why do you shiver / With such a funny little quiver?”
“Jam on biscuits, jam on toast, / Jam is the thing that I like most / Jam is sticky, jam is sweet, / Jam is tasty, jam’s a treat - / Raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, / I’m very / Fond…of…jam!”
"Bread and Jam for Frances" is an important piece of literature for critically analyzing our cultural landscape today. It covers questions of community, relationships, the self, conceptions of the environment, and ethics.
I will die on this hill. The kids today who are reading this book are asking the questions of tomorrow.
"Bread and Jam for Frances" is a story about the sacredness of eating together. It also looks at the fine balance between who we are as individuals and honoring our loves, our expressions, and our desires and our need for community, sharing in a collective experience, and finding a sense of belonging with others through trying new things that might be unfamiliar (and possibly self-betraying?) but ultimately may lead to a sense of connection.
Other themes include the different senses of connection we get from sharing food in the home vs. in public with friends/colleagues/classmates and how food is a medium in which we mediate and experience different forms of closeness, distance, and intimacies.
Through the usage and the form of song, improvisation, and lyrical choice, the character Frances also brings up questions of our relationship to food, our reckoning with the once-alive nature of what we consume, the anthropomorphizing of food as we juggle the need to nourish our bodies with other animals and plants, the reality of being part of a great ecosystem of living things, and our uncomfortable yet convenient and privileged place as the ones who decide (or have put ourselves in the place to decide?) the hierarchy and fate of animals, plants, laborers, products, and systems:
“Poached eggs on toast, / Why do you shiver / With such a funny little quiver?”
“Jam on biscuits, jam on toast, / Jam is the thing that I like most / Jam is sticky, jam is sweet, / Jam is tasty, jam’s a treat - / Raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, / I’m very / Fond…of…jam!”
"Bread and Jam for Frances" is an important piece of literature for critically analyzing our cultural landscape today. It covers questions of community, relationships, the self, conceptions of the environment, and ethics.
I will die on this hill. The kids today who are reading this book are asking the questions of tomorrow.
October 8, 2019
This was one of my favorite childhood books and it was fun to revisit it. I still love the artwork just as much, there’s a lot of feeling and expression in the character depiction. It’s a fun story about dealing with the inevitable pickiness of young children as Francis goes from being obsessed with toast and jam to finding a constant diet of her former favorite boring, to enjoying culinary diversity.
December 20, 2017
A sweet children’s book with an underlying lesson - have too much of something and eventually you’ll get sick of it
September 1, 2023
Francisca solo quiere comer pan con Mermelada. 😋
April 20, 2024
Well, of course she got tired of it eventually. I liked that her mother didn't try and force her, just let her eat what she liked. Good mom.
***
Now of course the illustrator may, and should, do whatever she likes. But I didn't care for the brightly colored version so much. It may be that I preferred the original for no reason except familiarity, but I didn't care for it.
Curious thing, though, while looking closely at the art: in one picture Albert is sitting in his desk where the ironwork appears to have ASS worked in it, presumably for a school desk manufacturer. But later we get the side of the desk straight on, and it very clearly has ASC. Fluke of the angle, the printing, or what, the ASS amused me.
I didn't remember the breaded veal cutlets, but I love what came on the next page.
Library copy
***
Now of course the illustrator may, and should, do whatever she likes. But I didn't care for the brightly colored version so much. It may be that I preferred the original for no reason except familiarity, but I didn't care for it.
Curious thing, though, while looking closely at the art: in one picture Albert is sitting in his desk where the ironwork appears to have ASS worked in it, presumably for a school desk manufacturer. But later we get the side of the desk straight on, and it very clearly has ASC. Fluke of the angle, the printing, or what, the ASS amused me.
I didn't remember the breaded veal cutlets, but I love what came on the next page.
Library copy
June 12, 2024
#41 on Time Magazine 100 Best Children's books
This one does not seem familiar to me at all. It's young enough that it would not have been from MY childhood, but I don't recall reading it to my son either.
Well, I've become a "the-only-thing-I-want-for-breakfast-is eggs" person, so I'll gladly eat any that Frances doesn't want (except fried with "lace" - yuck!). I'm reminded, from reading the story, how we used to salt hard-boiled eggs and celery. (I rarely pick up a salt shaker.) The lunches in the story seem like a lot of food.
I think Frances's mother was one smart badger.
This one does not seem familiar to me at all. It's young enough that it would not have been from MY childhood, but I don't recall reading it to my son either.
Well, I've become a "the-only-thing-I-want-for-breakfast-is eggs" person, so I'll gladly eat any that Frances doesn't want (except fried with "lace" - yuck!). I'm reminded, from reading the story, how we used to salt hard-boiled eggs and celery. (I rarely pick up a salt shaker.) The lunches in the story seem like a lot of food.
I think Frances's mother was one smart badger.
August 26, 2009
I loved this book growing up. The moral of this story is "Be careful what you wish for." Frances only wanted to eat bread and jam every day. At first it was nice, but she got sick of it after a while. Seeing all the different things her family got to eat, and she only got bread and jam. And that spaghetti sure did look good.
April 22, 2020
Seriously hard to beat Frances books for great children’s literature. Generational family favorite.
August 8, 2023
Just Frances!?!
Bread and Jam for EVERYBODY!!!
🍞🍞🥖🥖🍞🍞
Bread and Jam for EVERYBODY!!!
🍞🍞🥖🥖🍞🍞
March 10, 2009
I was not fair to my daughter last night. I persisted in reading Bread and Jam for Frances, by Russell Hoban, to her even after she lost interest and started standing up and running around on the bed. I couldn't put it down. This is a favorite from my childhood that I am happy to revisit and will revisit again when my daughter is a little older.
Frances is a girl (well, a badger) after my own heart. She'd rather eat bread and jam than eggs. As my friends know, I abhor egg dishes, but will happily eat cake, even though it contains eggs as an ingredient. However, Frances's preference for bread and jam extends beyond eggs to all other foods. Her very wise parents decide to give Frances bread and jam for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner, until poor Frances cries at the dinner table and asks if she could please have some spaghetti with meatballs, like the rest of the family is eating.
Frances is a delight, singing little witty songs about her likes and dislikes of food. Frances's parents are sterling examples of parenting whom I would be well served in emulating. There is a great scene where Mr. Hoban describes Frances's classmate, Albert, eating his delicious, balanced, varied and interesting lunch bite by bite, as Frances wistfully looks on over her bread and jam.
I am looking forward to rereading other Frances books as well as sharing them with my daughter.
Frances is a girl (well, a badger) after my own heart. She'd rather eat bread and jam than eggs. As my friends know, I abhor egg dishes, but will happily eat cake, even though it contains eggs as an ingredient. However, Frances's preference for bread and jam extends beyond eggs to all other foods. Her very wise parents decide to give Frances bread and jam for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner, until poor Frances cries at the dinner table and asks if she could please have some spaghetti with meatballs, like the rest of the family is eating.
Frances is a delight, singing little witty songs about her likes and dislikes of food. Frances's parents are sterling examples of parenting whom I would be well served in emulating. There is a great scene where Mr. Hoban describes Frances's classmate, Albert, eating his delicious, balanced, varied and interesting lunch bite by bite, as Frances wistfully looks on over her bread and jam.
I am looking forward to rereading other Frances books as well as sharing them with my daughter.
April 22, 2018
I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I read this book. I don't know where my copy came from. I certainly never was read to as a child, but this is still the earliest book that I own. I'm going to guess it was probably my sister's first and handed down to me - perhaps it was a Scholastic book? We really did take advantage of those book orders when I was a kid. And for that I'm thankful.
I loved reading this again - there's so many warm and fuzzy memories caught up in the examination of a book you loved as a child, seen through the eyes of the adult. I love her songs, and I love her exposition on eggs. They do feel funny going down, and yes, I've been stared at by many an egg on a plate.
The fact that an adult could put these feelings into words so beautifully is what makes this book, and this author, very special to me. The mother's quiet solution was perfect without lecturing, threats, or even tears.
Believe it or not I shared this book with my husband when I read it again, and even he enjoyed it, showing that Frances is still beloved through many years, generations, and even ages of readers. I cannot recommend these books enough.
I loved reading this again - there's so many warm and fuzzy memories caught up in the examination of a book you loved as a child, seen through the eyes of the adult. I love her songs, and I love her exposition on eggs. They do feel funny going down, and yes, I've been stared at by many an egg on a plate.
The fact that an adult could put these feelings into words so beautifully is what makes this book, and this author, very special to me. The mother's quiet solution was perfect without lecturing, threats, or even tears.
Believe it or not I shared this book with my husband when I read it again, and even he enjoyed it, showing that Frances is still beloved through many years, generations, and even ages of readers. I cannot recommend these books enough.
January 7, 2021
I love the accouterments, the foods, the preparation and process of eating in this book. When Frances' family eats their poached eggs for breakfast, they do so from egg cups. As dad eats spaghetti, there’s a pepper mill on one side of his plate, a hunk of cheese and a grater on the other. And then there is Albert. Oh, Albert! He carefully lays out his lunch, salts his hardboiled egg with a shaker, pours milk from his thermos, eats his custard with what appears a metal spoon.
Such a contrast to a Frances’ bread and jam. How luxurious when at the end, she spreads out her lunch complete with a doily and violet. She has a lobster-salad sandwich and cream of tomato soup and olives and celery and, and, and. . . . I agree with Albert who says, “I think it’s nice that there all different kinds of lunches and breakfasts and dinners and snacks. I think eating is nice.” How aptly put.
Such a contrast to a Frances’ bread and jam. How luxurious when at the end, she spreads out her lunch complete with a doily and violet. She has a lobster-salad sandwich and cream of tomato soup and olives and celery and, and, and. . . . I agree with Albert who says, “I think it’s nice that there all different kinds of lunches and breakfasts and dinners and snacks. I think eating is nice.” How aptly put.
March 20, 2023
a great book for my mom to make me read growing up to make me realize i had sensory issues
March 21, 2024
This is an old favorite from my childhood. I just reread it and it is still a delight.
Read
December 19, 2023Iirc this did not convince me to become less picky (though it did give me a brief obsession with doilies). However, it appears to have convinced Kid the Littler to try hard-boiled eggs, so, success!
July 16, 2007
Frances Loves PBJ's and in the mothers infinate wisdom she blesses Frances with PBJ's at every turn. As Frances sings her feelings from enthusiasm to forced conviction she slowely comes to the realization that variety is not a bad thing and ventures to ask for the spaghetti that others are eating. I love the rationales Frances provides for not eating certain food "but sunny side up eggs lie on teh plate and look up at you in a funny way and sunny-side-down eggs lie on their stomachs and wait and I love elaborate food descriptions "I have a cream cheese-cucumber-and-tomato sandwich on re bread...and a pickle to go with it. and a hard-boiled egg and a little cardboard shaker of salt to go with that. And a thermos bottle of milk. And a bunch of grapes and a tangerine. And a cup custard and a spoon to eat it with". And I love the songs Frances sings to solidify her position on Jam sandwhiches "Jam for snack and jam for meals, I know how a jam jar jeels--FULL.....OF.....JAM"!
The patient parents are the hero's in this book for allowing Frances to indulge in her dietary oddity without causing her a life long eating disorder by shoving diatribes and moral to the story down her throat.
Funny how this can be pulled off when you're a good writer (unlike Dr. L).
The patient parents are the hero's in this book for allowing Frances to indulge in her dietary oddity without causing her a life long eating disorder by shoving diatribes and moral to the story down her throat.
Funny how this can be pulled off when you're a good writer (unlike Dr. L).
February 8, 2011
Bread and Jam For Frances personifies a young female badger as a fussy eater who loves bread and jam. The illustrations in this book are very soft employing pastel colors, soft edges and shading. The story itself is extremely realistic, as many children have refused to try new foods at one point in time. This book can help teach children the importance of variety and trying new things as even their most beloved treat can become stale and boring. While I thing the moral of the story is a good one, I believe the story could have been shortened quite a bit and still convey the same message as effectively. Heavy on dialogue, the length and amount of words per page may cause a young reader to lose interest.
January 28, 2010
'I have a thermos bottle with cream of tomato soup,' she said. 'And a lobster-salad sandwich on thin slices of white bread. I have celery, carrot sticks, and black olives, and a little cardboard shaker of salt for the celery. And two plums and a tiny basket of cherries. And vanilla pudding with chocolate sprinkles and a spoon to eat it with.'
'That's a good lunch,' said Albert.
I always wanted a little cardboard shaker of salt in my lunch. One of my very favorite books!
'That's a good lunch,' said Albert.
I always wanted a little cardboard shaker of salt in my lunch. One of my very favorite books!
May 5, 2013
This was one of my favorite books as a child and then my children enjoyed reading as well. Hoban created a delightful children's story that was both entertaining and with a moral. I'm not sure I have ever used the word "delightful" before in a review but here it applies, yes this was delightful and a good story for children and a fine book for adults to read to children.
February 8, 2019
I am counting this towards my book total for 2019 because I have reread it so many times in the last month that it probably is equivalent to a mid-size novel at this point. Also, Frances's parents speak to me on a profound level.
December 26, 2018
I loved the Frances books when I was little. This book is not quite as fun or creative as "A Baby Sister for Frances" or "A Bargain for Frances." However, this is a clever way for parents to get their kids to eat more food and be less picky. As always, I love the illustrations for these books.
February 23, 2013
The perfect book for adults who are dealing with a picky eater. I love Frances and her little songs.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 612 reviews