Product Description

With the arrival of baby Gloria in the house, Frances feels that living with her parents is not as much fun as it used to be, so after dinner, she packs her bag and runs away under the dining room table. But when she overhears her parents talking about how much they all miss her, she decides that she should go back home. After all, being a big sister means she has lots of grown up things to do!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1787116 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Amazon.com Review
One quiet evening, Frances the badger is sitting under the kitchen sink, singing a little song, "Here are the buckets and brushes and me, / Plinketty, plinketty, plinketty, plee." When she stops singing to listen for parental coos of approval, she hears nothing. Frances is sure it's all her new baby sister's fault. It's why she has no raisins for her cereal, and it's why her new dress isn't ready for her to wear to school. She thinks she may run away after dinner. And she does! She takes her carefully packed knapsack and settles in under the dining-room table.

As she sits sulking and eating cookies, her mother and father, fully aware of her presence, begin talking about how much they miss her, and how much they love her little songs, and how a family is everybody all together, not just a baby. Frances can't stand it anymore. She calls them from her imaginary telephone and tells them she'll be home soon. Russell Hoban and illustrator Lillian Hoban succeed again with a tender, comical, heartwarming story that will make any big brother or sister feel better about a new sibling in the house. For more adventures of this endearing, enduring badger family, don't miss Bedtime for Frances (with illustrations by Garth Williams); Bread and Jam for Frances; Best Friends for Frances; A Birthday for Frances; and A Bargain for Frances. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

Review
"A gentle and humorous picture book for everyone, but especially families with a new baby sister or brother." -- -- School Library Journal

About the Author
Russell Hoban, author of A Bargain For Frances, also wrote five other books about Frances: A Baby Sister for Frances, Best Friends for Frances, A Birthday for Frances, and Bread and Jam for Frances, all illustrated by Lillian Hoban, and Bedtime for Frances, illustrated by Garth Williams. Mr. Hoban lives in London, England.

Customer Reviews

sweet book
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.

An adorable story, with the very lovable Frances
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.

Fun for any age reader
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.