Bread and Jam for Frances (I Can Read Book 2) (Paperback)

by Russell Hoban (Author), Lillian Hoban (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Frances loves nothing better than jam and bread, and turns up her nose at other kinds of food. Then her mother starts giving Frances jam and bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. "What I am/is sick of Jam," Frances sings to herself. That's the end of Frances's jam-only days, as she discovers, in her own winsome way, that variety really is the spice of mealtimes.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

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 Mother can come up with a plan, Frances just might go on eating bread and jam forever!

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060838000
• ISBN-13: 978-0060838003
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a cute classic story about a picky eater!, July 17, 2002

By	christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Connecticut, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Bread and Jam for Frances (Paperback)

This is a cute and captivating tale of Frances, the picky eater who only wants to eat bread and jam. Her parents handle her food refusal by indulging her with bread and jam at every meal and snack. She soon tires of it and wants to eat what everyone else is eating: a well-rounded meal.

This is a cute tale with little rhymes that Frances sings to herself with her food musings. The illustrations are adorable, they are not a visual assault as some other children's books have. This book was first published in the 1960s and as with other picture books of that time, has nice long prose, a good length of a story.

Both parents and children who deal with fussy eaters will appreciate this funny tale. It is a classic that is sure to be a favorite!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A timeless book for all ages, June 29, 2001

By	A. Sullivan "asullivn" (Columbia, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bread and Jam for Frances (Paperback)

I remember falling in love with "Bread and Jam for Frances" when I was a child and I was eager to see if my 3 year-old daughter would be equally fond of it. It's one of her favorites. We've read this book before bedtime almost every night for the past month.

When fussy eater Frances refuses to try anything new to eat, her mom and dad teach her a loving lesson in how you can have too much of a good thing. My daughter likes pointing out all the different food that's represented in Lillian Hoban's wonderful illustration and she's memorized all of Frances's charming little songs about jam and food. The love, humor and gentle nature of this book make it a good one to pass down from generation to generation.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite, February 23, 2001

By	Kelly ENGL340 at SJC (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread and Jam for Frances (Hardcover)

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban, with illustrations done by Lillian Hoban is one of my favorite books. This book teaches a very important lesson to any child who has a favorite food. In the story Frances eats only bread and jam, even though her mother prepares other foods for her. Eventually, Frances' mom stops preparing other foods for Frances and gives her only bread and jam, just as she likes. Frances is happy with this at first, but then grows sick of eating the same food for every meal while her friends and family are able to eat other foods. In the end Frances' mother gives her different foods for her lunch at school and Frances is happy again. I believe this story to be one that any elementary school aged child could relate to. The story tells children of the importance and enjoyment of eating a variety of foods. The pictures and text directly complement each other. The text is needed to tell the complete story, but the pictures enhance the story. Bread and Jam for Frances is a simple story that is easily followed by children. Children can read this story and relate to the realistic situation. This book captures the child's attention and finishes the story within the short attention span of a child. The illustrations of this book contributed to my choosing it as a favorite. Frances' facial expressions in the illustrations help children easily identify her feelings throughout the story. In the beginning Frances is very happy, but as she gets tired of eating bread and jam a frown appears on her face. When Frances becomes very upset that she can only eat bread and jam, she cries. At the end when Frances' mother offers Frances other foods Frances is very happy again. The pictures are very soft and friendly. The colors are engaging and follow the story directly. The style of the illustrator follows the style of the author. Neither the text or the pictures overpower the other; there is a complementary style between the two. I believe this book to be very appealing and appropriate for an elementary age child.