This book was a favorite of mine when I was a child. I have an old battered copy and would like another one that I can use with my children.

I also was read this book as a child. My mom was talking about reading this book to her class just recently. I always loved the book and wanted a copy for myself, but unfortunately it was out of print and the one they did have for sale was way out of my price range. It would be very good if they did reprint this.

I've had this paperback for as long as I can remember. It was my, and now my daughter's, favorite story (and I have lots of books), but something spilled on it, and now it is ruined. I thought I could find a copy somewhere, on this world wide web, to replace ours. My daughter would be overjoyed to find this book in her stocking this christmas, and I would look forward to my future grandchildren loving it as much as we do. I can't believe I can't get this story-can anyone help?

Jacque Painter

djpainter@usa.net

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.

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.

The Frances books are great. Children and adults can share books for once and both enjoy them. Bread and Jam for Frances is about when Frances has become a very picky eater and only likes to eat bread and jam! A great tale for picky eaters.
The illustrations are very nice and colorful, and you have to love the how all the characters are badgers in the book.
If you enjoy this book, try out the other books in the Frances series. ...

My family is fairly unanimous that this is our favorite Frances book (with "A Birthday For Frances" the likely runner up.) Frances both stands up to being excluded and learns not to do the same thing herself; her anger at Albert is realistic and her "revenge" funny but not cruel; and everyone resolves their conflicts in a friendly way. The wording of the exchanges between Frances and Albert is exquisitely well done, I think: Hoban expresses such nuances in language that gets through to even small children. And last but not least, Frances's little songs are always hilarious and this book has some of the best ones of all, which my 2-year-old daughter has learned by heart.

Frances doesn't think she can be friends with her littlesister, but learns her lesson when the two actually become bestfriends.

Sweet story about not excluding one's little brother andsister, the Frances books are just great.

My children, ages 4 and 5, enjoyed hearing the Frances stories. She is very funny and a delightful, precocious character.

Coming from a family of schooteachers, my mother successfully made sure that I always had more books than toys. I may have resented it as a child, but as an adult, I look back with nothing but gratitude and appreciation. Harvey's Hideout was one of my very favorite books. I read it countless times. It is such an endearing story and I can remember the beautiful, vibrant illustrations as if I saw them yesterday. I loved Mildred, as mean as she was! I loved her independence...her creativity...and her yellow-flowered dress! To me the story showed the importance of family and acceptance and love for one another, even if it's a brother whom you just wish would go away! They say that "Books are your friends" and Harvey's Hideout was one of my very best. If I am ever fortunate enough to come across a copy again, it will have a permanent place in my book collection. A must-read for children of all family structures, in my opinion...a real treasure. ~Enjoy~

A childhood favorite! I read my copy to my children every year when we come to visit the grandparents. The book is so worn that it is not longer attached to the binding but my son and daughter love to hear about Mildren and Harvey. They can really relate to the brother sister name calling! They are past picture books but we still enjoy the read aloud experience. I wish it was still in print. I would give as gifts to families with sibling rivalry! a Fabuolus book!

Living on a farm with no real neighbors to speak of, my little brother and I not only loved this book, but we also lived it. Just like Harvey and his sister Mildred, we fought like crazy but we also discovered that when school was out, we only had eachother. The book made us laugh and also taught us something about being good to your brother or sister.

Somehow I discovered this book in paperback when my (now) 30-year-old son was preschool age. I read the book to him, to his sister who is nine years younger, and to many children with whom I have worked in public school as a speech language pathologist. Finally I gave the well-worn book to my son because he is now a father. It's guaranteed to warm a child's heart. Sister Brute has no one to love until she gets an "ugly kicking dog" and a doll made from a stone. Then she discovers that there are other people to love.

Please bring this bizarre yet lovable tale back! I loved it as a kid, and know my kids would too.

Reprint this book! I remember it from childhood and would love to have copies for myself (my old copy is lost, naturally) and to give as gifts. Excellent story.

My name is Russell too, but I am a good Russell. The Russell in the story is nice but sometimes he's naughty. After Germy and Russell hit eachother they were friends again. I learned to read with these books, now I can read! That's all I want to say!

P.S. from Russell's mommy: these books are wonderful, perfect for any emergent reader, and just fine for energetic little boys. It was fun to read realistic vignettes set in the city. I liked the chapter where Russell goes out for Chinese food with grandparents, it was familiar! We have read all of them in the series, one is funnier than the next! Johanna Hurwitz has the heart of Beverly Cleary, and the talent, too, but with a style all her own. Don't miss these lovely read-alouds!

Five year old boy experiences some of lifes moments shared by other children. Chapters have stand-alone themes, so it is greaat for a chapter a day before bed or at school. It explores disappointment, fighting at school, a first chinese dinner and wanting attention. Delightful, although I changed use of "stupid" to "dumb" that Russell uses. A great book for students from K through 4th grade, as well as parents. It is a humorous, family oriented book.

I remember reading this book when I was in second and third grade. I checked it out from our school library a million times and would read it over and over again. One thing that I loved about it so much was that I thought that it was a "chapter book" and I felt so grown up for reading it. Great stories are in it; I still remember them 9 years later. The doll, the haircut, the baseball game, and when Elisa was hiding underneath the table during her parent's dinner party. It's a book that is written so that even a second grader can read it on their own, with maybe a little bit of help. Also easy to understand, yet interesting and challenging at the same time. I definitely would recommend this book. (Infact, I now want to buy it because I loved it so much as a child.)

Another in a 'series' of Russell Books. My 5 year old begged me to read more. It is a family story centered around a seven year old boy with a three year old sister. This book brings out interesting subjects such as sleep-overs, cutting hair and attending a first baseball game. A young child will endjoy having it read to them - good discussion for parents. This is a humorous, family book that will be of interest to students from K through the 4th grade, as well as parents.

Although this wonderful book is long out of print, the excellent Hutchinson Treasury of Children's Literature includes it with many of the pictures. The rest of the Hutchinson Treasury's not bad, either, my six-year-old's favorite book.

It's not available in the US, but you can order it from amazon.co.uk ...

The first time our family set eyes on this book was when we borrowed it from the mobile library that visits our village. It became a classic when the kids were young, and we went on to borrow it a number of times. Phrases from it became part of our everyday language such as lets do some "high up fooling around and low down fooling around", lets play "sneedball", and I think I'll go and "learn the nautical almanac". When our younger son reached 18 years of age we decided to buy him a copy as a joke present.... We wrapped it and presented it to him at our local pub where we were having a celebratory drink on his birthday. It was a present to be savoured. We ended up having a ceremonial reading in the pub, much to our great amusement. All the other customers wondered what all the laughter was about. Had they known they would have been as hysterical as we were. Whenever the family recalls great examples of children's books this is always at the top of the list. Its a cracking read for grown ups as well. I defy anybody not to laugh. We still have the book and still refer to it....

From the comments of other parents and various children's bookstore owners, as well as the fact that the rare used copies sell seemingly seconds after they become available, it is incredible that the two Capt. Najork books have been out of print for so long. (I once tried to put my name on a waiting list at a Toronto children's bookstore, and the clerk just laughed at me). The brilliantly innovative language -- try saying "Aunt Fidgit Wonkham-Strong Najork" and see if your palate isn't pleased -- sloppily perfect illustrations, and wonderful stories make for instant classics -- delightful for children and adults alike.

Wake up, publishers! There are a lot of very hungry Capt. Najork customers out there.

Unlike many readers, I first discovered Russell Hoban's adult novels and only later, when my daughter became old enough, did I read his books for children. Ridley Walker was my first Hoban novel and still remains my favorite. Looking at his earlier children's books, though, it is easy to trace the curve of his style. One's first impression of Ridley Walker is one of awe that he can carry off the language as well as he does. This is not "A Clockwork Orange" with a few new words and phrases, but an entirely new pidgin with a consistent syntactic structure and an wonderfully twisted take on the (future) derivation of the English language. And you must discover the language for yourself, there's no cheating by looking it up at the back of the book. Next I was taken in by the seamless melding of religion, geography, history, folk lore, and science that form the many circles within circles of the plot line. Hoban's intellectual powers are obvious in the way he can take disparate real locations and events and forge a connection or relationship where none exists. Finally though, it is the beauty and the magic of the world he has created, the clarity and the fearlessness of his vision, and the metaphysical flights of fancy that puts this novel at the top of my list of must-read books. Little Shinin Man roading out..

Trubba. You have to truly be a word person. Not a crossword puzzle word person (like my wife). But a word person. Words. Language. Dripping and rolling off the table. You like MOBY DICK specifically BECAUSE Melville is wordy. You're a word person. You'll read Hoban's RIDDLEY WALKER the first time, mystified and astonished. You'll read it the second time, and it will unfold word bombs in your mind. You'll read it a third time and it will be too late - you've been quietly transformed. IF YOU ARE NOT A ROMANTIC (classic sense) LOVER OF WORDS STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK. IF YOU WANT A SIMPLE PLOT, A SIMPLE STORY, STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK. If you want to travel the pages of one of the most astonishing literary works of the 20th century, read RIDDLEY WALKER. Trubba not.

"Riddley Walker" is one of the most memorable books I have ever read, and anyone who rises to the challenge will never regret it. It takes place in an England of a hazy, distant, post-apocalyptic future and is told in the first person by the title character. It seems Riddley is one of the very few people in his Neo-Iron Age culture who actually knows how to read and write, and he documents his travels and trevails in a language that takes a little getting used to. I found myself reading many sentences out loud to figure out what exactly was being said, but once I hit my stride the book was very enjoyable. By the end of this book, when you find out how young Riddley really is, you realize that there may be some hope for civilization after all. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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.

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!