Classic Picture Book - Bread and Jam for Francis
Summary - "Jam on toast," sings Frances about the food she likes most. Frances decides she is only going to eat bread and jam because she doesn't like the food that is offered to her. As the story progresses, her parents start providing more tempting choices, but give Frances only bread and jam until she decides she has had too much and will eat what is offered.
Reviews
K-Gr 2-- Frances refuses to eat anything but bread and jam. Eventually, with some help from her friends and her younger sister, she comes to see that variety truly is the spice of life. The pop of color in the pink jam on white bread contrasts strongly with the little badger's black-and-white fur, making it an effective focal point. -- Genevive Gallagher
Frances loves nothing better than jam and bread, and turns up her nose at other kinds of food. Then her mother starts giving Frances jam and bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. ``What I am/is sick of Jam,'' Frances sings to herself. That's the end of Frances's jam-only days, as she discovers, in her own winsome way, that variety really is the spice of mealtimes. (4-8) -- Elizabeth Devereaux
And so...
I thought the premise of this book was cute, but the illustrations seemed a little old fashioned. The original two color illustrations from 1964 were recolored in 1995 and it seems easy for even early readers to notice that the color was done later. The storyline will be familiar to young children who are always being told to eat whatever new food is placed in front of them. At the end of the book, Frances learns to try new things so she won't tire of the old.
Uses for this book
Librarians could do a read aloud with this story and tie it in to having students pick a different type, or genre, of book than they usually read. There could be a social studies/science lesson tie in where pictures of the state tree, flower, bird, etc. are displayed and students go on a scavenger hunt through non fiction to find different species from the ones that are displayed.
References
Hoban, Russell. Bread and Jam for Francis. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008.
Summary retrieved from Syndetic Solutions, Inc, Richardson Public Library Online Catalog, June 15, 2011
Gallagher, Genevive. Bread and Jam for Francis. School Library Journal; Jul 2006, Vol. 52 Issue 7, p45-45, 1/9p.\
Devereaux, Elizabeth; Roback, Diane. Publishers Weekly, 2/19/96. Bol 243 Issue 8, p.217, 1/3p.
Photograph retrieved from http://www.titlewave.ca/search?SID=f8ac10b16e8bae8115b56bbc7726681a
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