Reading is one thing that I always recommend doing when one is learning any foreign language. When students read aloud they not only develop their reading skills but they also improve their pronunciation, their spelling, their vocabulary and also their writing. Moreover, they will learn new cultural concepts related to the language they are learning.
I generally recommend reading a book at least once a day and of course all depends on the age and the level of the students. However, when shopping for children French books online or at the bookstores it’s very rare that we find good ones. Most of the books found in U.S. bookstores are translations. Translated texts can never render the essence nor the subtleness of the meaning of the original texts. Sometimes, they can even alter the meaning and thus make it hard for the reader to understand what the writer wants to say. That’s why I always recommend French books written originally in French. The students get to learn the exact expressions as they are used in French speaking countries.One important point to consider when you purchase books for your kids is whether the book is written in French only or written in French and English. I have to say that I am not a big fan of foreign language story books or foreign language learning books that are written in both languages. I know that some would object and wonder how they would be able to understand the instructions or sentences if they were not written in English. I would say: All depends on the level of the student. For kids, I would say that instructions in English are not necessary. All you need is a nice picture book. Kids love pictures and can understand the meaning just by looking at pictures. When you buy your children books written in English and French, they would always rely on English rather than try to understand what the French words mean or get used to those words. They have a good alternative, why bother!
Again all depends on the level and the age of your child. If you start your children early ( at 3 or 4) you will need picture books with audio CDs . This way, you can give your child the book; he/she will listen to the CDs, look at the pictures and look at the words at the same time. The sounds that he/she learns will never get lost. They will be stored in a safe place in his/her brain. Have you forgetten the songs “ Alouette, gentille allouette” or “ Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques” that you learned decades ago? I doubt it. Everytime I listen to songs that I haven't heard for years, I'm amazed how easy it is for me to remember the words even if I haven't sung the song in years. No matter how long ago you learned it, the tune and some of the words remain familiar for ever.
To help you decide which books to get for your children or for yourselves, I have the selected the best ones that I could find in Amazon.com. I always remember how it was hard for me to get a French book for my daughter or for me. They are almost inexistent in bookstores and if I am lucky enough to find some of them, they are generally translations and bad translations on top of that. One day I had the bright idea to look in Amazon.fr. I found many interesting books, but I was shocked when I found out that for one tiny used book, I had to pay the equivalent of 20 dollars as the shipping alone costs more tha 10 dollars! Unless you go to France and get good French books for yourselves and your kids, I suggest to look at the list that I have prepared for you. I constantly go through Amazon.com and look for good French books that are suitable for each level. There is not a big choice, I admit; however, I'll do my best to select only the best ones that are well written and are garanteed to help you or your children learn French at its best.
For the list of the books we recommend, click here
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