Rating: 
Summary: great
Review: i was a kid when my mom first read this to me ans i still love reading it to my little one. this story helps kids get over things that go bump in the night. (and it brings back wonderful memories for mommy too)
Rating: 
Summary: Not thrilled
Review: I was hoping for a story that would help to paint a lovley picture of bedtime from a child's stand point. This book only succeeded in spelling out some lovely ways that children can make it exasperating for themselves and their parents.Very disappointing, given that Bread and Jam for Frances is one of our family favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: getting quite a bad rap without much cause.
Review: I'm quite suprised so many people take issue with this book. It was one that I loved as a child, and although I had the sort of fears that children often do, my parents were always really good about reminding me that the things in your room when the lights are off are the same things there when the lights are are on. Perhaps that's the reason this book never inspired the terror in me it seems to present to many reviewers' children. As for the spanking issue -- I was hardly from an abusive home, but the issue of punishment was something I was always familiar with. I hardly think the book is suggesting that Frances is going to be physically abused by her parents, so much as it's showing fed-up adults convincing their child to just get some sleep. This book might not be for the terribly young, but it's a pretty cute story about conniving for extra time before bed. I would recommend it to anyone who is up front with their children about things like 'spankings', even if they don't practice them.
Rating:
Summary: Parent's beware!
Review: If ever there was a book which begs to be read thoroughly by a parent before presenting it to a child, it is this one. I had heard that this book is a "classic" but having read it, I for one would never allow my children to read it or have it read to them. Frances is finally persuaded to go to bed only when threatened with a spanking! What kind of message does this send to our children? Hopefully, most parents who care enough to purchase and read books for their children will find the message of this book not only inappropriate but also irrelevant.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful example of how all children delay going to sleep
Review: Like many others I was read and read Bedtime For Frances as a child. My book was lost some years ago and I was thrilled to be able to get another copy. I think that this book is great to read to all children. You can even use it to show that sooner or later they will have to go to sleep and you can help them make it sooner.
Rating:
Summary: Not enjoyable for us
Review: My daughter didn't enjoy this book and neither did I. I'm glad I recently read the reviews here because I would never have thought to read another book by this author. I'm just sorry I didn't read the reviews before checking the book out from the library. At least I didn't fork over any money for it. This book does nothing but give children all sorts of things to imagine and create so that they can be scared at night. My 4 year old thought it was creepy and not at all reassuring. Also, the reference to spanking is definitley not nonsense. I am not "new age" at all but I don't believe in hitting other people and that includes children. Having poor Frances thinking about being "whacked and smacked" was just disappointing and sad. When we got to the word spanking my daughter asked what that meant and was incredulous when I told her that it meant hitting your children and that some parents actually did that. She had trouble believing me at first. She has never been hit, never seen anyone else be hit and never heard of the term spank. I was very proud of that! My daughter and I have VERY open communication and it was difficult for me to make sense while explaining why some people hit their kids since it doesn't make sense to me. All in all there was just no real value in this book at all.
Rating:
Summary: A spanking good book
Review: Okay, the title of this review is a joke. The threat of spanking, mentioned by 13 (if I counted correctly) of 31 customer reviews, is offset for the following reasons. 1) The book is a classic--a great old book that has become a multi-generational tradition in many families, including many (like mine) that do not spank their kids. 2) Children live in the real world, and excessive sheltering from it is counterproductive. 3) There are very few books that deal with nighttime fears as effectively as this one (*Where the Wild Things Are* is another). 4) It is aimed at a younger audience than the other Frances books making it a good introduction to the series. 5) Like all the Frances books, it is well written, well illustrated, and quite amusing. Note--Garth Williams illustrated this one; the others were illustrated by Lillian Hoban. 6. It has wonderfully delightful examples of a very young child's (il)logic, for example, "There is a giant in my room, may I watch television?" (or something like that--I don't have the book in front of me). I am highly amused that, for all the reviews that complain about the spanking threat, NONE of the to date complain about the smoking by Frances' father. I'm sure that MUST say something strange about Amazon's customer reviewers, but I can't figure out what!
Rating:
Summary: It is bedtime for Frances, but Frances is not sleepy . . .
Review: There are some children's books that I firmly believe are more important for parents to read than for children to hear and "Bedtime for Frances" may well be one of them. Frances is a determined young badger cub created by Russell Hoban who experiences the challenges of growing up with help from her devoted and honest parents. This book, with illustrations by Garth Williams, was originally published in 1960, which explains why there is a reference to spanking. Yes, today we look at that reference and even if we are not appalled outright we have to at least have second thoughts. But the strength of the Frances books is that there show how she becomes a critical and independent thinker, and certainly that is to be cherished. The story is about Mother and Father trying to put Frances to bed at 7, when it was her bedtime. Unfortunately, Frances, like many a human child, is not at all sleepy and keeps coming up with ways to put off going to sleep. Her imagination, and her stomach, keep getting the better of her and while her parents are the most reasonable of badgers, they do have their limit as to how many of Frances' requests they will honor. I especially like the way that Father deals with the tiger and the giant that might be in France's room. Teachers interested in using "Bedtime for Frances" in the classroom should be aware that there is an excellent study guide for the book prepared by Mary Bolte, which should help deal with the "spanking" issue. This is important because apart from that one aspect, this is a wonderful book for teaching children without them realizing they are learning anything.
Rating:
Summary: Bedtime for Frances, a great book!
Review: This book is excellent in many ways and, to be specific and fair to this classic, I will list some of the reasons:
1)It is very easy to read. My 7 year old love it and read it quickly without getting stuck in any of the words. It is also full of both illustrations and the story. Today's writers will make a huge drawing and write a sentence per page making you feel they most had "writers block" when they wrote it. Not this book! It have a long, entertaining story to go with the pictures. 2)It is a story about an issue we can all relate to: "A kid asking for extra kisses, hugs and water or inventing noises and monsters in order to stay awake at bedtime". The book is not "based on the assumption that a child who cannot sleep is deliberately inventing excuses not to do so, and that genuine terror (which is a fact of life for many) that might cause such sleeplessness is imaginary and manipulative on the child's part, and can be dispelled by a fear of punishment". Saying that is a horrible misinterpretation of the book for two reasons: a) Frances mom and dad always went and check on Frances excuses, making sure nothing was wrong; b) A parent should know their child enough to know if he/she is being manipulative or if, in fact, the child have a serious sleeping problem. In this case it is obvious that Frances is acting manipulative (she even ask for cake while complaining about monsters!). Most kids just invent excuses and in this book Frances made up lots of excuses for not going to bed making this book a very funny yet heartwarming story.
3) About the spanking part, Frances guessed that if she continued to wake up her dad she would get a spanking. She didn't actually get any spanking. When my child read this spanking part she laughed out loud because she is not traumatized by spanking ideas and because she knew that Frances wouldn't get any spanking anyway.
4)The book was wrote many years ago, that's why they mentioned spanking. There is no reason why parents should "beware"! As I said the spanking doesn't take place anyway and for today's kids it is just a funny part.
Rating:
Summary: Any 5 year Old can be seen in Frances.
Review: This book just brings home how a little child's mind works and it shows that constructive limitations always do a child some good. The idea of spanking is still one that exist today and used in the right manner can work wonders. Kudos to Russell Hoban. We need more books that handle strong willed children this way. My little girl loves these books about Frances. She honestly said after we read this book , "Mommy, this sounds familiar!" We have ordered all six Frances books and the cassettes and I can't wait until Christmas to see my childs delight at forever being the owner of such wonderful books.
| 
