This all-time favorite children’s book is one among a few I credit for helping develop my reading habit! And so ‘A Birthday for Frances‘ by Russell Hoban should always find a place on any bookshelf.
I first read ‘A Birthday for Frances‘ when I was 4 years old.
Along with other kiddies’ books, it qualified me for my first ‘prize’… a ‘Little Reader‘ badge from a public library at Houston – for taking out a certain number of books in a week.
We’ve had a copy of this delightful little book at home. Many more kids have read and enjoyed it over the years.
But it didn’t make the cut.
When I purged our unwieldy collection and donated some 750 books to a neighborhood library. (It was simply growing too hard to store them safely at home.)
Recently, I ran a Google search for another childhood favorite (Bennett Cerf’s ‘Book of Laughs‘) – which incidentally lists on Amazon for USD 579.99 for the hardcover edition!
That’s where I stumbled across my favorite ‘chompo bar‘ book.
Ordered it right away. Read it again right after it was delivered. And enjoyed it just as much.
Fifty years later, it’s still such fun!
“Happy Chompo to me
Is how it ought to be-
Happy Chompo to Frances
Happy Chompo to me!”
As I sat back, a smile playing over my face, I realize the REAL value of a book like ‘A Birthday for Frances‘.
It helped kick off a reading habit. One that has lasted a lifetime.
I average 100 books every year. And read for at least 3 hours every day, even now. Often more.
It’s the BEST habit I’ve ever acquired.
And I credit ‘A Birthday for Frances‘ for helping start it.
By the way, if you’d like to develop the reading habit, too – I’ve written a book about building new habits… called ‘Knife At a Gun Fight‘.
