Hoban, Russell

Frances decides she likes to eat only bread and jam at every meal until--to her surprise--her parents grant her wish.

"Jam on toast," sings Frances about the food she likes most -- until she has it for the sixth meal in two days.

When things change around the house after her baby sister is born, Frances decides to run away--but not too far.

As her little sister Gloria's birthday approaches, Frances wavers between being generous--and being jealous.

Thelma usually outsmarts Frances until Frances decides to teach her a lesson about friendship.

A crocodile family tries to conserve energy at home.

In the cold north, when Sixteen-Face John, a shaman, learns that his first child, a soonchild, cannot hear the World Songs that inspire all newborns from their mother's wombs, he sets out on a quest that takes him through many lifetimes and many shape-shifts, as well as encounters with beasts, demons and a mysterious benevolent owl spirit, Ukpika, who is linked to John's past.

Frances thinks up many reasons for not going to bed on time.

"Blue ribbon book." When the Mole family finds out about Christmas and the fat man in the red suit, they ask for a telescope to help them see the stars.