Y8- Loving French- reading suggestions

[gwendy]

hello, my Y8 son is loving learning French at school and I'm trying to find him some gentle but stretching reading books to expand his skills- any suggestions? thank you in advance.

Definitely something designed for 2nd language learners. Anything written for native speakers will just be impossible for a good while yet for a child learning French in class at a normal school in the UK.

I agree with the above. Although, if your dc is keen to give reading normal French books a go, they would have to start with the children's books such as petite ours brun, or troro. Those books are very short and easy reads. When older, Max et lillie comic style books. But I would try trotro first to see if your dc can read that.

Maybe ask his French teacher? There might even be some books in the school library that he could use.

thank you for your suggestions

I read Le Petit Prince at that age OP, it's such a magical book, I still love it all these years later.

I had a dictionary on hand though and used it a lot, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. Lovely illustrations too!

he can also watch children's DVDs in French / with subtitles (if you still have DVDs of course). They come in amazingly random languages.

No need for dvds. Youtube has everything for free. Again Trotro francais, pepa pig, sam sam, petite ours brun. Those are great for beginners to watch and learn.

Asterix? If they've read it in English, the first page helps with the less familiar vocabulary.

I was about to suggest that. S'il vous plait, dessine moi un mouton.

I find Astérix surprisingly difficult, there is some really sophisticated word play in there which you need quite a good grasp of French to understand.

I recommend Le Petit Nicolas books. They are a bit like a French Just William and can be enjoyed by all ages.

Also the Claire Bretecher Agripinne books, which are in a BD (comic book) format.