Bedtime for Frances

Summary

Bedtime for Frances is a picture book about a little badger who cannot settle down for the night. At seven o'clock Mother and Father tell Frances it is bedtime, and she begins a string of requests: a glass of milk, a piggyback ride to her room, a kiss from each parent, her teddy bear and her doll, and then another round of kisses. Alone in bed, she sings her own version of the alphabet song, and when she reaches T and thinks of tigers, she is sure there is a tiger in the corner of her room. She goes out to the living room, where her parents are watching television, and Father asks whether the tiger has bitten or scratched her and sends her back to bed. Next she sees a giant in the room. This time Father lets her have a piece of cake but not television, and tells her to ask the giant what he wants; the giant turns out to be her bathrobe on a chair. Then she worries about a crack in the ceiling, and Father inspects it and assures her it is too small for anything bad to come out of. When the curtains move she fears that something is coming to get her. Father explains that the wind has a job, blowing the curtains, that his own job is to go to work in the morning and so he must sleep, and that Frances's job is to go to sleep; if she gets up again, he says, she will get a spanking. When she hears a thumping at the window, Frances stops at her bedroom door, thinks it over, and goes to look for herself: it is only a moth bumping against the glass. With nothing left to fear, she goes back to bed, and at last she falls asleep. Harper published the book in 1960 with drawings by Garth Williams. It was the first of Hoban's Frances books; later titles such as Bread and Jam for Frances (1964) were illustrated by Lillian Hoban.

Plot or Argument

• Seven o'clock

  Frances delays bedtime with milk, a piggyback ride, kisses, her teddy bear and her doll, and more kisses.

• The tiger

  Her alphabet song brings tigers to mind; she reports one in her room, and Father sends her back to bed.

• The giant

  A giant appears; Father gives her cake and tells her to ask what it wants. It is her bathrobe on the chair.

• The crack in the ceiling

  Father examines the crack and says it is too small for anything bad to come out.

• The curtains and everybody's job

  Father explains that the wind's job is to blow the curtains and Frances's job is to sleep, and warns her not to get up again.

• The moth

  Frances investigates a thumping noise herself, finds a moth at the window, and goes to sleep.

Characters

• Frances, protagonist

  A small, imaginative badger who invents fears and requests to put off going to sleep.

• Father, parent

  Patient at first and finally firm, he answers each fear and explains that everyone has a job.

• Mother, parent

  Gives Frances her milk and kisses and settles her at bedtime.

• The moth, the last noise

  A moth bumping on the window, which Frances discovers for herself.

Lessons

• Fears can be checked

  Each thing that frightens Frances turns out to be ordinary: a bathrobe, a small crack, the wind, a moth. By the end she looks for herself instead of running to her parents. The book shows young children that night fears shrink when you look at them calmly.

  • What did the giant turn out to be?
  • What did Frances do differently when she heard the last noise?
  • What helps you feel brave at night?

• Everybody has work to do

  Father tells Frances that the wind has a job, he has a job, and her job is to sleep. The idea helps her see bedtime not as a punishment but as her part in the family's day.

  • What is the wind's job in the story? What is Father's job?
  • Why is sleeping a job for a child?
  • What jobs do you have at home?

• Parents who are kind and firm

  Father and Mother give Frances milk, kisses, cake and answers, but Father finally tells her plainly that she must stay in bed. The story shows love that is patient and also sets limits.

  • How do Frances's parents show they love her?
  • Why does Father finally say she must not get up again?

Context

The book came out in 1960, when picture books about ordinary family routines were a growing part of American children's publishing and television had become a fixture of the family living room, as it is in Frances's house. Hoban said the Frances stories drew partly on the experiences of his own young children.

Composition

Hoban wrote the text and Garth Williams, already known for his pictures for Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web and the 1953 Little House books, drew Frances and her parents as badgers with lifelike fur in a homely house. Harper published it in 1960.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews called it the coziest, most beguiling bedtime story in many a day. It led to a series of Frances books from 1964 to 1972, illustrated by Lillian Hoban, including Bread and Jam for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances and A Bargain for Frances, and it has stayed in print as a standard bedtime read-aloud.

Comparisons

• owl-at-home

  In Lobel's story of the Strange Bumps, Owl is frightened by shapes under his blanket that are really his own feet; both books turn a child's night fear into gentle comedy.

• little-bear

  In Minarik's Little Bear's Wish, Little Bear cannot sleep until Mother Bear tells him a story; both show a small animal child secure in a loving family at bedtime.

• stuart-little

  Garth Williams illustrated both books, and his skill at making small animals look real and also childlike shapes the feeling of each.

• little-house-in-the-big-woods

  Williams also drew the 1953 pictures for Wilder's book, where Laura feels safe in bed while Pa plays the fiddle; both books make a child's bedroom a place of safety watched over by parents.

• frog-and-toad-are-friends

  Toad's fussing and Frances's delays are both small-scale comedies of a stubborn character gently handled by someone who loves them.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• All the things Frances asks for before she will lie down.
• The letter in her alphabet song that makes her think of tigers.
• What the giant really is when you look closely at the picture.
• What Father says about the wind and everybody's job.
• How Frances acts differently when she hears the last noise.

Key terms and names

Badger

A furry animal with a striped face that lives in a burrow. Frances and her parents are badgers who live like a family in a house.

Bedtime

The time a child goes to bed. For Frances it is seven o'clock.

Piggyback

A ride on someone's back; Frances gets one to her room.

Crack

A thin line where the ceiling has split a little; Frances worries something will come out of it.

Moth

A night insect like a butterfly that flies toward light; one makes the last noise at Frances's window.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension What did Frances ask for before she got into bed?
2. Comprehension What did the giant in Frances's room turn out to be?
3. Comprehension What was making the noise at the window?
4. Interpretation Was Frances really scared, or was she trying to stay up? What in the pictures or in her requests for cake and television gives you a clue?
5. Interpretation Why do you think Father told Frances about everybody's job?
6. Interpretation Why did Frances go and look at the last noise herself instead of calling Father?
7. Big Question Why do we need to sleep, and who watches over us when we do?

Faith Connections

• Psalm 4:8 (Scripture)

  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. Frances lies down safely in the end because her room holds nothing to fear and her parents are near.

• Psalm 121:3-4 (Scripture)

  He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Frances's father must sleep for his own work, but the psalm tells of One who watches all night long.

• Proverbs 3:24 (Scripture)

  When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. The tigers and giants melt away into a bathrobe, a crack and a moth.

• Ecclesiastes 3:1 (Scripture)

  To every thing there is a season. Father's talk about jobs teaches Frances that night is the time for sleeping, as morning is the time for work.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Frances is afraid of tigers, giants, cracks and moving curtains, and her parents answer each fear. Each frightening thing turns out to be harmless, and Father explains that everyone, even the wind, has a job, and hers is to sleep. Therefore when the last noise comes, Frances looks for herself, finds only a moth, and goes to sleep.

Rhetorical device: repetition (pattern of threes and more). Frances gets up again and again, each time with a new fear, and each visit to her parents follows the same pattern until the last noise, when she breaks the pattern by checking for herself.

Debate: Resolved: that Frances was really frightened, not just trying to stay up late.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Tell what Frances was afraid of, in order, and what each thing really was. Then tell what Frances learned by the end.

Comparison with Owl at Home: Frances is scared of a giant in her room, and Owl is scared of strange bumps in his bed. Compare what each one finds out about the thing that scared them.

Medical Lens

The book is a familiar picture of ordinary childhood bedtime resistance and night fears rather than illness. It is sometimes used by parents and teachers to talk about bedtime routines and fears of the dark. Father's approach (answering each fear, explaining the cause of the moving curtains, then setting a firm limit) and Frances's final step of checking the noise for herself can be read alongside later advice on settling young children, but the book makes no medical claims, and any clinical reading is the reader's own.

• Bedtime requests

  Frances's chain of requests for milk, piggyback, kisses, bear and doll before she will lie down.

  Sleep Insomnia
• Tiger, giant, crack and curtains

  Successive night fears, each answered by Father, ending in his explanation that everyone has a job.

  Neurosis Anxiety Sleep Insomnia

Creative Prompts

• Classroom

  Make a chart of the things Frances thought she saw and what each one really was.

• Poetry

  Make up your own alphabet song, as Frances does, with one word for each letter.

• Dialogue

  Act out the scene where Frances tells Father about the giant, with one child as Frances and one as Father.

Further Reading

• Bread and Jam for Frances, Russell Hoban

• A Baby Sister for Frances, Russell Hoban

• A Bargain for Frances, Russell Hoban