Hoban, Lillian Books

A Birthday for Frances

Russell Hoban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A wonderfully whimsical read, hilarious sub-text, great for kids 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful story, I love Hoban's books as they work well on both the adult and the child levels. This is bascially the story of Frances, a badger who is struggling with the fact that her little sister Gloria is having a birthday. Frances does not say it out loud, but rather through her actions and her little rhymes we realise that she is unhappy about it, that her sister seems to have all the birthdays and she doesn't have as many. Something which almost all children struggle with at some stage or another.

The lovely hting about this book is that the parents are so lovely and patient, and the sub-text is really fun for adults reading it. What Frances does makes for great fun. She borrows two weeks pocket money from her mother to buy Gloria a present, but then she ends up 'accidentally eating half of it - and the other half looks distinctly threatened by her justification.

I will guarantee your family will enjoy this story, and the other Frances stories as well - they are highly recommended as great good fun.

Editorial Review:

s her little sister Gloria's birthday approaches, Frances wavers between being generous'and being jealous.`[Frances] is every youngster who chafes at being the un-birthday child.

Best Friends for Frances (Trophy Picture Books)

Russell Hoban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Gender Wars/Prejudice is Not Appropriate for Little Readers 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 6 people found this review helpful.

We got this book to read with our 3.5-year-old son. I am very disappointed. Based on the good reviews, I assumed it would be a wholesome story. Instead, I learn that Frances sings terrible, mean songs about her little sister and her friend "Fat" Albert. I skip the words to those songs, as I don't even want to plant the seed of such unkindness in my son's mind. Additionally, some of the boys in the books exclude the girls from a game of baseball, saying that it's not a game for "girls." Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, but such thinking is so antiquated that even to have it mentioned is offensive to me, and it's an idea that I don't want my son to have. I realize that maybe eventually I'll have to deal with such gender wars and ideas of prejudice (gender, weight, age, etc.), but I don't think it's appropriate for a three-year-old. He doesn't have any idea yet not to like people for such petty reasons; why would I want him to get the idea that it's okay to feel that way?? Even if the characters in the Frances books ultimately redeem themselves, the seed of hateful thought will have already been planted in my loving little man. No thanks, Frances.

Editorial Review:

The irrepressible Frances teaches Albert, the badger next door, about friendship. `Full of the humor and homely details of family life that make [the Frances stories] beloved by both children and adults.' —H.

Children's Books of the Year 1969 (CSA)

A Baby Sister for Frances

Russell Hoban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial 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

A Bargain for Frances (I Can Read Book 2)

Russell Hoban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I remember my mom reading this to my sister and I when we were young. It's so cute. I love the illustrations being in black and white, and the ambiguity of Frances' species. It's a great story about envy over another person's things and about cheating your friends. I've kept the image of the little tea set in my mind for almost 30 years. I'm so glad I found this book again and hope your kids find it as special as I do. The other Frances books are a treasure as well. -M. Farrell

Couldn't stop laughing 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

... at poor Thelma, when she realized that Frances had turned the tables. I read the Frances books when I was young and was delighted to rediscover them for/with my own children. My kids have a strong sense of fair play (don't most?) and they loved to see Frances outwit her sometime friend. Of course I did remind them that deception may not be the best solution for this kind of problem, but the poetic justice was hilarious to behold. And I appreciate that they found a solution themselves, and amicably at that, without needing to haul in parents or counselors or the police.

On a sadder note, the illustration in my copy doesn't seem quite up to par with some of the other Frances books. Frances looks almost cold, she's missing so much fur. That provided a little lesson for the kids too... "How would you improve this picture? What did you like better about the other pictures?"

Editorial Review:

Frances and Thelma are friends -- most of the time

Thelma always seems to get Frances into trouble. When she tricks Frances into buying her tea set, it's the last straw. Can Frances show her that it's better to lose a bargain than lose a friend?

Bread and Jam for Frances

Russell Hoban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Cute testament to picky eaters 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Such a cute book! I was so happy to get my hands on a copy, because you just don't see much writing like this anymore. The story is cute, the writing style is wonderful with plenty of sing-song, and it has a cute message about learning to try different kinds of food.

Shades of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Frances is a picky eater. She likes bread and jam because it's consistent.

Her parents are understandably upset by this, but they deal with it in the most practical way - they give her exactly enough bread and jam to fill her up for life.

The story is resolved very quickly, after only a day, but satisfyingly. "How do you know what I'll like if you don't even let me try it?" indeed.

Editorial Review:

Frances, one of children's best-loved characters for over 30 years, now springs to life even more in Bread and Jam for Frances,beautifully reillustrated in sparkling full color by Lillian Hoban. In this memorable story, Frances decides that bread and jam are all she wants to eat, and her understanding parents grant her wish'at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacktime.Can there ever be too much bread and jam?

The Little Brute Family

Russell Hoban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One of my childhood favorites 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book was one of my absolute favorites as a child so I just purchased it for my children who also love it. I'm hoping that it will be one of their favorites when they are adults remembering fond memories of reading books with Mom and Dad. A great message about manners and attitude! You have to love Russell Hoban's books.

Little Brute Family Fantastic! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Little Brute family lives a miserable existence...even has to eat sand and gravel porridge...but something wonderful happens and the family
undergoes a magical transformation...this book is so well written it will be a family favorite for years to come..Every mother can relate to Mama Brute who stays home to "bang the pots, thump the furniture, and scold the baby."

Editorial Review:

They eat sand and gravel for breakfast and a stew of sticks and stones for dinner. No one says "please" or "thank you." Instead, they kick and yell and punch and shove. Then one day everything changes, when Baby Brute happens upon "a little wandering lost good feeling in a field of daisies." When he brings it home in his pocket, nothing is ever the same for the Little Brute Family.

Joe and Betsy the Dinosaur (I Can Read Book 1)

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Editorial Review:

Joe and his pet dinosaur, Betsy, are ready for a fun-filled day in the snow. But as soon as they go out . . .

Kerplunk!
Crash!
Bang!

Betsy slides down the hill and crashes right through the ice, her big feet samsh the steps of the lions' den, and her sneeze blows the chimney off the bears' house. Poor Betsy! She's too big for her own good -- or is she?

Lillian Hoban tells a warm and funny story that's just right for beginning readers.

Arthur's Great Big Valentine (I Can Read Book 2)

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Editorial Review:

"[In] this lovely valentine from Hoban to all beginning readers, a minor squabble with his best friend, Norman, has left Arthur all alone this wintry Valentine's Day [until] Norman's little brother saves the day, and the two best friends are reunited.This title will warm up any snowy, blustery day."—SLJ.

Arthur's Christmas Cookies (I Can Read Book 2)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

So cute! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I love this book. It's great to read to kids or for a beginning reader to read on their own.
Arthur wants to bake Christmas cookies for his parents. Using his sister's EZ Bake Oven, he does just that - only he accidentally uses salt instead of sugar! The cookies come out hard as rocks, and Arthur cries that nothing he makes ever turns out good. But then, he thinks of a different way to use the cookies - a way that they'll last a lot longer, too. Great book for Christmastime.

Editorial Review:

Christmastime!

Arthur decides to make Mother and Father special Christmas cookies as a present. But when the cookies are finally finished, they are hard as rocks! Can Arthur think of a way to turn this disaster into the best Christmas present ever?

Arthur's Loose Tooth (I Can Read Book 2)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The other Arthur experienced the other tooth-losing feeling 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The lesser known Arthur character, created by Lillian Hoban. Many people may know Marc Brown's story, "Arthur's Tooth" about Arthur the aardvark, but they may not necessarily realize that each Arthur has a different message. One is about being desperate to lose a tooth, the other about being scared to lose a tooth. I actually prefer Lillian Hoban's Arthur the monkey over Marc Brown's Arthur the aardvark, so I purchased this book as well as other Arthur the monkey titles. This one reminded me of when I was scared to lose my first tooth. Plus this one teaches how to make taffy apples and s'mores, and tells how the s'more got its name on page 62. If you wish, buy the Marc Brown book listed above, then buy this book and compare the two feelings of each Arthur character. However, if you are particularly interested in this title, beware of trying to obtain a book club edition through a school book club which has this title listed, as you may accidentally get sent the Marc Brown title.

Editorial Review:

Arthur, afraid of pulling his loose tooth, and his little sister, Violet, learn something about being brave in the seventh adventure about two favorite chimps. `An engaging story that has a firm hand on the foibles of early childhood.' —BL.

100 Favorite Paperbacks 1989 (IRA/CBC)