Russell Hoban's Frances books

Russell Hoban's books about a clever badger named Frances and a handful of lovingly-constructed cohorts have a way of finding themselves checked out on my library card at just the right time.  They are repeat checker-outers.   And they speak on some aspects of life familiar to all children (and their parents) in an insightful, humorous way. 

In Bread and Jam for Frances, Frances has an unswerving devotion to bread with jam that rivals my elder lad's preference for bagels with peanut butter for nearly every meal.   She turns up her nose at the eggs her mother serves for breakfast (happily devoured by Frances's baby sister -- sound familiar?  It is at our house.) in favor of the stand-by.  At lunch, she has no interest in the varied and colorful meal her friend Albert brings (complete with little salt and pepper shakers and a host of foodstuffs); she's happy with her bread and jam.  For dinner she will have none of the veal cutlet her father so eagerly enjoys.  She's having... bread and jam.  Her mother catches on to this and serves her only bread and jam, not even offering her what everyone else is having.  Interesting strategy with telling results... maybe it would work here, though it might already be working out that way.  More than a few times now, the lad has said "I'm tired of bagels and peanut butter."

With the three-year-old lad's birthday having just passed, A Birthday for Frances could not be more timely.  Frances's baby sister Gloria is having a birthday, and Frances is struggling with the fuss being made -- even though she has been reassured that her upcoming birthday will merit similar festivities.  Their father takes Frances to choose a birthday present for Gloria.  Frances hems and haws over whether to actually give Gloria the present until the very last moment, verbalizing the internal conflict she feels in her signature song-like way.

Now might be a good time for me to disclose my predisposition to liking the name Frances, as it was my grandmother's.  She went by Fran and was about five-foot-two.  

Frances learns a heartening message about befriending one's sibling in Best Friends for Frances after her buddy Albert tells Frances she can't accompany him on a boy's-only outing.  Frances and Gloria load up their hamper with all kinds of yummy foods (I'm guessing this is after her bread-and-jam-only phase), run into Albert along the way (who would love to help them eat all the food in the hamper), and cautiously allow him to come on their outing.  What will this mean for the budding friendship between the sisters? 

This series also includes Bedtime for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, and A Bargain for Frances.  Originally written in the 1970's, there are timeless elements to these stories that make them pertinent to kids and parents today.  The era-specific references increase their charm.