Customer Reviews

A Baby Sister for Frances

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's a delightful kid's book. Who cares if the badger drinks from a bottle or eats chocolate sandwiches? If you're going to get technical, I didin't know badgers could talk. Really. that's the problem with America today - nobody has any fun anymore, and creativity has been stifled and replaced by accuracy.
I loved this book and the entire Frances series growing up and love them now.

My son, now almost three, is finally able to listen along to books that are actually interesting. In the last couple of weeks, we have taken the next step in picture books into books that have paragraphs on each page instead of just a sentence or a word or two. And in celebration of that, I pulled out the Frances books by Russell and Lillian Hoban. These books are just a treat, full of subtle situational humor that any parent can relate to. I'm sure many people are already familiar with these books, but you might consider picking them up again if you'd like a smile.

Frances, a little badger who likes to make up her own songs, is so quintessentially child-like. She's clever and funny, but like with all children before a certain age (and what age is it? I'd like to know), it's really all about Frances. She has a little sister, Gloria, with whom she shares some natural sibling rivalry. And she has a lovely, patient, very understanding set of Badger parents, Mother and Father, who always seem to know what to say and do to support Frances but not encourage her natural, but more selfish urges.

In A Baby Sister for Frances, Gloria is just a tiny bundle. Frances's nose is clearly out of joint at all the attention newborn Gloria is getting:

"In the morning Frances got up and washed and began to dress for school.

'Is my blue dress ready for me to wear?' said Frances.

'Oh, dear,' said Mother, 'I was so busy with Gloria that I did not have time to iron it, so you'll have to wear the yellow one.' Mother buttoned Frances up the back. Then she brushed her hair and put a new ribbon in it and put her breakfast on the table.

'Why did you put sliced bananas in the oatmeal?' said Frances. 'Did you forget that I like raisins?'

'No, I did not forget,' said Mother, 'but you finished up the raisins yesterday and I have not been out shopping yet.'

'Well,' said Frances, 'things are not very good around her anymore. No clothes to wear. No raisins for the oatmeal. I think maybe I'll run away.'

'Finish your breakfast,' said Mother. 'It is almost time for the school bus.'

'What time will dinner be tonight?' said Frances.

'Half past six,' said Mother.

'Then I will have plenty of time to run away after dinner,' said Frances, and she kissed her mother good-bye and went to school."

The story goes on, Frances does run away to under the dining room table, and eventually Mother and Father have a loud conversation about how necessary Frances is to their family which, of course, Frances overhears. The whole book is just lovely - clever and funny, with some parental patterning snuck in for the adult reader to learn from. And, remarkably, no matter how many times I read these books, Frances's adventures continue to ring true and amuse. Two thumbs up from me.

This book in the Frances series tells of Frances' trouble with having to share her parents with her new baby sister. In typical Frances style, she makes up songs about what she is doing, and complains loudly about things that she doesn't like. Her decision to run away to under the dining room table was a running joke in our family for months. Now if someone's nose gets bent out of shape we say "are you going to run away to under the dining room table?"

It handles the needs of older siblings and their feelings very nicely and is a great ice breaker to help older kids talk about how a new baby impacts their lives.

Frances's life is in upheaval because of her little sister's arrival. Suddenly she is not the focus of attention and schedules are disrupted, to say the least. So she runs away, to the dining room table!

I love the Frances books, they are sweet and not condescending, a must for any children's library.

I loved this book when I got my very own baby sister about 17 years ago. I highly recommend it for any parent trying to explain that little bundle they brought home from the hospital.

There are a lot of books out there to prepare older children for siblings, but this is one of our favorites. Frances has a new baby sister, and all of a sudden there are no more raisins for the oatmeal (Mother didn't have time to shop), and her blue dress isn't ironed (the yellow one is and Mother has a new ribbon for her hair, but Frances still declares, "Things are not very good around here anymore!") She decides to run away under the dining room table. I love the raised-voice discussion of the parents about what a wonderful and inspiring big sister Frances is and how it's just not the same without her. I've even been known to get tears in my eyes over the part where Mother Badger says, "Goodness knows I like babies. But a baby is not a family," and Father answers back, "Isn't that a fact. A family is everybody all together." Those words are what prompts Frances to come "home."

It's just a sweet book but has enough of Frances's trademark sassiness and the author's usual way of relating common early childhood problems in a humorous way. I recommend all the Frances books, but especially this one if you've got a new baby in the house or on the way.

My granddaughter was having a very strong reaction to her new baby brother so I gave this book to her. We all about died laughing the day she announced she was moving to Florida, behind the rocking chair, with her 3 bags of toys. Not the dining room table that Frances moves to, but it seemed to do the trick and granddaughter is adjusting well. Seriously, this book really helped her with her feelings about another child coming in to the family. Thank you to the Hobans!

When I was little, I used to love the Frances books. This is easily one of the best ones. In it, Frances has to deal with the fact that her mother and father are often too busy with Gloria the new baby, to speak to her at the moment. Frances just can't stand being ignored, so she tries all kinds of things. Finally, after there are no raisins for her oatmeal, and her mother didn't have a chance to iron her favorite dress, Frances decides to run away to the dining room. So she packs up her knapsack, and runs away to the dining room table with a box of prunes and five chocolate sandwich cookies. But after her food supply is exhausted, Frances realizes that you can't run away from your troubles! And so she runs back to her mother and father. But I really loved her marching song, which I used to annoy my parents with.

The Francis series is a wonderful reminder of how parents "used" to parent! It's love, unsullied by the current trend to spoil our kids to death. I loved these books as a kid, and now my daughter loves them, too!

A Baby Sister for Frances is a wonderful book for children. Many time when a new child comes into the family another one feels left out. This book portrays the feelings and thoughts of a child in this situation. I think that this book, even on a low level or reading, is a good book for teens. It points out that no matter what your parents say or do they really do love you. I would recomend this book for anyone!