Bread and Jam for Frances
Sale price
$958
Picture Book · Ages 6–8 · 1964 · Est. 14 min read-aloud

Bread and Jam for Frances

Written by Russell Hoban · Illustrated by Lillian Hoban

Part of the Frances series

A picky eater's obsession with bread and jam challenges her parents' creativity.

4.6/7 Bookroo experts·4.2/5 Goodreads · 33,983 ratings
32 pages· 1,740 words· Est. 14 min read-aloud
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Bookroo's summary

Frances loves bread and jam, refusing all other foods. Her parents face a dilemma: how to expand her palate beyond her sticky, sweet favorite. Will they find a way to break her jam-only diet, or will Frances continue her culinary rebellion? Discover the humorous journey of a stubborn eater and her family's quest to introduce variety into her meals.

From the publisher

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!

At a glance
Format
Pages
32
Words
1,740
Reading age
6–8
Audience
Early Reader
Lexile
AD490L
Themes & topics
Books about foodBooks about picky-eatingBooks about trying new thingsBooks about badgersBooks about cooking and food
Inside the book

A peek between the covers

What readers & critics say

Reviews

4.6

out of 7

4.0

Bread and Jam for Frances is a classic originally published in 1964 about little Frances who loves bread and jam and refuses to try anything else. Eventually, her parents stop offering other food, and after Frances eats bread and jam for breakfast, lunch, after-school snack, and dinner, Frances starts to get tired of it and discovers a new interest in trying new foods. The earliest readers may not appreciate the lesson unless they have some helpful prompting from someone reading with them. But if the reading happens together, it might be a great way to talk about the picky eating together. As a bonus, the book might introduce young readers to some new, old-fashioned words--like the "doily" Frances uses to set out a nice little school lunch picnic.

Lemony Snickers

Trusted reviewer

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I have some picky eaters in my home as well. I never considered giving them only one type of food for a while. Perhaps I'll try it and see if it works for them as it did for Frances.

Mom of Boys

Trusted reviewer

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The author

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The illustrator

More from Lillian Hoban

Explore Lillian's bookshelf

Arthur's Christmas Cookies

Ages 4–8 · 1972

Silly Tilly and the Easter Bunny

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Will I Have a Friend?

Ages 3–6 · 1967
The series

The Frances series

See the whole series

Bedtime for Frances

Ages 4–6 · 1960

A Baby Sister for Frances

Ages 4–8 · 1964

A Birthday for Frances

Ages 4–8 · 1968

Best Friends for Frances

Ages 4–8 · 1969
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The fine print

Book details

Reading levels
ATOS
3.3
F&P level
~M
AR points
0.5
AR interest level
LG
AR quiz
129394
Publication
Published
January 28, 1993
First published
January 1, 1964
Publisher
HarperCollins
Edition
Language
English
Type
Picture Book
Identifiers
ISBN
9780064430968

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