Bread and Jam for Frances: For the picky eater

Title: Bread and Jam for Frances
Author: Russell Hoban
Illustrator: Lillian Hoban
Age Range: Ages 4-8

Reading this book when you're hungry is not a good idea.  At one point in the middle of it, you or your child is going to ask for a slice of bread with a nice lovely slather of jam on top.  You will either be lucky enough to have someone around to bring you that very snack, or you will be getting up from your comfortable position to make you and your child a bread and jam sandwich. 

That notwithstanding, this book is super cute in its approach of the picky eater. In it, Frances loves her bread and jam and walks around eating it all the time. However, when it comes time to try other foods, she wrinkles her cute little badger face at things like spaghetti and meatballs and refuses to eat it.  She only wants to eat bread and jam so her parents decide that she will do just that - eat only bread and jam.

But sometimes too much of one thing is not a good thing, and Frances discovers it.  After getting bread and jam for several days in a row at lunchtime, coming home to bread and jam for snack, and eating bread and jam for dinner, she learns that variety is really the spice of life (especially where food is concerned.)  She changes her mind about bread and jam and begins eating again.

This is a classic book, from the 1960's and one that I loved as a child.  My own two daughters love it and sing the cute little ditties that Frances sings when I read the book.  The pictures are also so charming and sweet. It is a wonderful book to enjoy with your child, and perhaps use as a jumping off point for discussions around picky eaters.