A man who understood children

Some books for children capture the spirit of childhood so memorably that they linger in the mind for years. How many adults are there who can still repeat lines from the Curious George books, or those of Dr. Seuss? This week the world lost another artist who captured children's hearts and minds in his series of Frances books--Russell Hoban. Starting with "Bedtime for Frances" in the late 1950s, Russell Hoban showed a child's life in the furry face of a badger. Frances went through many of the perils of young childhood. The story of "Bread and Jam for Frances", which describes how Frances clung to the security of bread and jam for a meal echoed a situation found in many households. The security of eating what you know you like and refusing to be tempted into trying something new like a squishy fried egg, is a sentiment that most of us can identify with. As Russell Hoban grew older, he turned to writing novels for adults. These were inventive and well-received and no doubt linger in many people's minds, but the books that will finally bring him immortality are probably the Frances books. Even after seventy years, the stories are as fresh and new as ever and as parents age into grandparents and great-grandparents they will no doubt continue to read them to eager children.