These books introduced me to the high-spirited young badger named Frances, who I loved at once because (like me) she loves bread and jam and (like me) struggles to do the right thing and gets upset when things don’t go her way. I also loved the funny and occasionally nonsensical songs Frances sang. I recently re-read A Bargain for Frances (having bought it for a child of my acquaintance) and found it very funny and enjoyable. I particularly love the illustrations of Frances herself, the little badger girl…

Tangent #1: Frances doesn’t wear clothing in the books, but the adult badgers do. It didn’t seem odd to me as a kid but it does now. But I don’t think Frances would look as cute if they put her in a little skirt or the like, so I am glad they are the way they are.

Tangent #2: While looking at the reviews for the Frances books on Amazon I found that most other readers loved them as much as I did. There were, however, a bunch of very negative reviews for Bedtime for Frances, prompted by the inclusion of spanking in that book, and what the reviewers saw as parental coldness and even cruelty. I don’t have a copy here to refer to, so I can’t really comment on the book directly myself. I will say, for what it’s worth, that I have no memory of that aspect of the book so I don’t think it was particularly traumatic for me as a kid. Then again, my parents didn’t spank us either so perhaps I didn’t really understand it at the time.

Tangent #3: While googling to find out a bit more about the author, I found a reference that said the author’s father rewarded his kids with nickels for clever remarks and excellent artwork to stimulate their development. Cool!