anybody remember those Frances kids books?

[eckmannl]

When I was little, I coveted my Frances books...
A bargain for Frances, a baby sister for Frances, etc. I was excited to come across a couple of Frances books recently and was horrified to find what was in Bedtime for Frances.
When Frances is scared by things in her room, she goes to her parents room and her father tells her to go to bed or get a spanking! Then she goes to bed, hears a moth against the window, going "whack and smack. Whack and smack made Frances think of a spanking. And all of a sudden she was tired."

This book was originally published in 1960, but the latest copyright is 1996. I guess I'm just shocked to see this in a kids book.

-Nicole

[newtonscricket]

Actually, this happens to me with a lot of children's books I remember fondly.

Curious George. LOVED it. Read it to my kids. Ack! The Man With the Yellow Hat KIDNAPS George by tempting him with his hat and then captures him in a bag with a rope tied at the neck! I pretty much only read them the subsequent George books and try to avoid the first.

Babar. ADORED it. Ack! Barbar's mother gets shot on about page 2. Then follows the Europeanization of African Babar. In "Travels of Babar" (the "honeymoon" book) illustrations of "savages" who attack Babar and Celeste make me very uncomfortable.

[jannan]

i love the frances books . i read them to my class whenever i can. yes, there is a mention of a spanking and i don't advocate it, but think of all the other values the books teach.......sharing, being honest with deals you make with your friends,.......remember the book about the tea set?and i love the rhymes she makes up. here are some frances trivia questions:


what kind of animal is frances?
and what state has the same as its' mascot?
what is frances' baby litte sisters' name?


i love trivia.

[kewb]

I do not remember the Frances book but my dh nearly choked on his coffee the day I was reading Curious George to ds. He asked me why the man in the Yellow Hat pur George in his hat and I said "The Man in the Yellow Hat is a Poacher." "What is a Poacher, mommy?" And I told him.

[Treasuremapper]

Yikes! Which Frances book is that? We just bought "Bread and Jam for Frances".

[zinemama]

I loved the Frances books as a kid, and I love them now and so does ds. Yes, there is a spanking reference. It's an older book. Not a big deal to me, I just edit it out when reading it aloud.

Ooh, Frances trivia! Let's see...Frances is a badger. Her little sister's name is Gloria.

Also, I was surprised initially to read the spanking reference - not because it was in the book, but because I didn't remember it being there (and this was a book I read all the time as a kid). Clearly it didn't make much of an impression. And as Jannan said, the other stuff is what kids remember: the funny songs, the dead-right portrayal of siblings, etc.

[mamatojade]

:

I love the Frances books, and just got a couple for Jade. I had them nearly committed tomemory as a kid and the spanking did not stand out and the other messages are great.

[AutumnMama]

Originally Posted by inezyv

Yikes! Which Frances book is that? We just bought "Bread and Jam for Frances".

It's 'Bedtime for Francis', we have this book and I sort of just ad-lib in that spot...which will work fine till DD learns how to read :LOL
Though I think I may just get rid of it because I feel like it's teaching her stalling tactics (and we don't need any more of that! )

As far as I know none of the other books have any reference to spanking.

[jempd]

I know, it's weird to me that a book that can handle the coming of a sibling so sensitively (A Baby Sister for Frances) has that reference to spanking. I love the illustrations of the Frances books--and I love badgers so I was disappointed to to see that pretty recently. As for the Babar books--ds was introduced (and I was reintroduced) to them just a few weeks ago. Yep, page two, and I didn't see it coming, the mother gets shot and MIL was reading to ds and was really taken aback and kept trying to edit it out with funny results. But the other Babar book we have, Babar and his Children, has several dramatic and pretty scary events. First the baby swallows a rattle and nearly chokes, turning blue, then another elephant child winds up almost eaten by an alligator, then they all almost fall off a cliff--and this is all in one book. I am so not in favor of sanitizing and glossing over things even for small children but reading the Babar books to ds what came back to me was the vague sense of dread and alarm (as well as pleasure) that I got when I was a kid and was read them. I remember distinctly, though I'm not sure which book it's in, the old lady getting bitten by a snake and her arm swelling up and turning green and she almost dies.

[Kirsten]

Bread and Jam for Frances is one of my most beloved books from childhood. But I don't remember having/reading any of the other ones. I do find that I often have to "edit" when reading books to my kids though. Usually to avoid the word "fat" which really bothers me for some reason. I usually substitute "big" if it can't be omitted.

[jacksmama]

I love Frances too. However, I wouldn't have any books that include spanking in them. I'm tired enough, I don't want to spend the energy to edit ds's books.

[annettemarie]

My kids love the Francis books, and think the spanking part is a weird joke. My kids are sort of odd, though.

[jannan]

nobody answered my francis trivia questions...............

[annettemarie]

She is a badger, and her little sis is Gloria, but I don't know the state answer.

[isleta]

ds loves Bread and Jam for Francis. It's a book with cassette

[Shirada]

Funny you should mention this. We read Bread and Jam for Frances this evening, (haven't read it for a good while), and my girls fell about on the floor laughing at all the funnies, (they almost never do that with books). I did like this particular book enough to look at the other Frances books but discovered, as did the OP, that the others weren't in keepig with our values. So, we continue to enjoy just this one Frances book.

[Hera]

Originally Posted by jannan

i love the frances books here are some frances trivia questions:


what kind of animal is frances?
and what state has the same as its' mascot?
what is frances' baby litte sisters' name?


i love trivia.

Badger
I don't know
Gloria.

Now to read the r est of the thread...

[Hera]

Ok,
I loved Frances books as a kid too, but that whole Bedtime one really squicks me. My mom saved them, so I have them to read to dd.

I like the one about Gloria's birthday, and I really like the one where Frances has a friend who doesn't really treat her very well. Love the little songs Frances sings.

I think that if you avoid Bedtime For Frances you'll do all right.

As far as Curious George goes, I love the poacher explanation! I've always been bothered by that book, and go out of my way not to have to read it...that's another one my mom saved. I also don't like the way this is phrased "he is a good little monkey but he is always curious." Like there is something wrong with being curious, or that curiosity is what gets him into trouble. How about, his heart is in the right place and he wants to do the right thing, but he has very poor impulse control." Maybe that wouldn't sell so many books....

[MamaMonica]

It is funny revisiting childhood books and seeing them with new eyes! I loved Frances, too. Dd loves Frances. I was surprised when reading them to the kids last year to find the spanking and some mean kid stuff that was hard to explain to dd (A Bargain for Frances). Curious George, too- ack

[lisalou]

Originally Posted by kewb

I do not remember the Frances book but my dh nearly choked on his coffee the day I was reading Curious George to ds. He asked me why the man in the Yellow Hat pur George in his hat and I said "The Man in the Yellow Hat is a Poacher." "What is a Poacher, mommy?" And I told him.

Practically choked on my pumpkin seeds. I do the same thing to dd all the time except she's not asking questions, I just change the story to talk about how the man in the yellow hat is evil. It usually cracks dh up. I also talk about what simpering goody two shoes Kim and Carrots are in Babybug magazine. And how the DCFS has been called while the mother from "Good Dog, Carl" was out and will be arriving shortly.

So, for the OP when dd shows more of an interest in the Bedtime for Frances book I'll probably be editing out the spanking part b/c otherwise it is a good book that I think will be useful as I see dd already try to stretch out her bedtime. On a side note, a friend of my MIL read Bedtime for Frances to her son. He appeared at the side of her bed in the middle of the night and his mother said, "Now remember what Frances' dad said." and her son said, "I'm not Frances so it doesn't apply."