The Sorely Trying Day

Father has had a sorely trying day, but what he finds when he comes home isn't going to make it any better. The cat is on top of the grandfather clock, and the dog is barking and trying to get at her, and all the children are "striking each other and speaking in unpleasantly harsh voices." Thus begins Russell and Lillian Hoban's wonderfully comic and deliciously quaint story of what lengths kids and adults will go to in order to pass the buck, before everyone owns up to having a part in the general mess and in the end things are fine. Unless, that is, it all begins again. . . . The Sorely Trying Dayis a classic picture book in which the beloved authors ofBread and Jam for Francesonce again prove their power to both delight and instruct.

Russell Hoban is the author of A Bargain for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, Best Friends for Frances, A Birthday for Frances, and Bread and Jam for Frances, all illustrated by Lillian Hoban. He also wrote Bedtime for Frances, illustrated by Garth Williams. He lives in London, England.

Lillian Hoban (1925–1998) was the author and illustrator of many favorite children’s books, including Joe and Betsy the Dinosaur, Silly Tilly’s Thanksgiving, and a series about Arthur the chimpanzee.