BREAD AND JAM FOR FRANCES

Frances the badger always faces life with an original song on her lips. She composes with calculation, as in Bedtime for Frances and A Baby Sister for Frances, leaving her alert parents to get the musical message. This time Mother and Father Badger guide her through one of the most maddening stages of childhood. It all starts when Frances croons to her breakfast egg that "I do not like the way you slide,/ I do not like your soft inside..." and makes inroads on the bread and jam. Frances passes up some mouthwatering menus that day and sticks to her self imposed diet with perfect juvenile logic: she won't try anything new because "... when I have bread and jam, I always know what I am getting and I am always pleased." From that point on, Frances gets nothing but bread and jam and her eating problem is completely cured by the saturation method. The lunch she carries to school becomes really chi-chi-gourmet. The Hobans have done it again: a sly text attacking a real juvenile problem and attractive illustrations.