Previously on “Friends for Frances,” when we last saw Frances (pages 8-11), she watched helplessly as Cromwell and Wolsey, her not-so-welcome gentlemen callers, made themselves at home in her house and garden. She hissed and spit and deterred them not one bit. We return to the story:
her spirits rose... 
I can hardly wait for what comes next…….
And I wonder what you are imagining?
I can picture you reading this to Lady Baby, and making the sounds of the animals rat-a-tat-tatting and clicking. You’re making a great combination of visual and audio pictures for me. And I try to imagine how many days it actually took for Frances to give up on her hissing and spitting.
Frances is a realist. That’s my thinking for why she would give it up – and Wolsey and Cromwell are pretty irresistible – but it would take a number of days. Thank you about the sounds – I would like to do that picture again with birds of proper sizes – but not this edition!
So much fun to read—especially knowing these three characters that you have captured so well! More please!
Thanks so much Michelle – and more coming!
I love the way Frances takes charge of her visitors and instructs them in the rules of the house and inhabitants of her natural world. I can “hear” these pages too and imagine Lady Baby looking up for clacking crows and trying to imitate the sounds. The pictures are very dear. Like Cromwell and Wolsey, I’m delighted to be admitted to Frances’ world.
Susan what a very sweet comment – thank you so much! And I love it that you have recognized Frances’s very real bossyness – Cromwell and Wolsey are perfect foils for her – they are so good-natured, weird and wonderful in their own ways but not needing to be in charge like the black and white. Thank you again – always love hearing from you! More coming….
I’m loving this!
A rabbit “lippety- lippeting,” great description. Looks like a pileated woodpecker rat a tatting —–I love those sheltered places for little animals. What a wonderful story to share with little Opal.
Thank you for kind words Netzy. Particularly, since you are bird artist, for not pointing out the size of that pileated woodpecker (being smaller than the crow!). Making up scenes is so challenging – and proportions are one of the ways things get out of whack (there is a scene later in the book where that really happens), but I am glad to have met my goals and kept moving. I hope you are painting lots this summer! xo