So you decided to get your children to learn French, and you are trying to teach them a little bit. Here I will give you a little list of easy to read books that children of all ages can enjoy. Some will be in French only, other will have a little bit of English and a bit of French. Some will be audio, others both, and some “only” normal books.
Remember the idea is for it to be fun and playful. Like with everything we give our kids, some books will be read over and over and others will be left untouched.
Free Audio Books
Classic stories
First of all, let me tell you about some free universal stories I found online. We all know Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the 3 bears, Snow White…etc.
The stories are written in French but a translation is available by clicking on the text. It is also read in French if that makes you feel more comfortable regarding the accent.
Several stories are available : 6 are available at thefrenchexperiment.com/stories. Here the video and audio versions are free. Our favorite is Little Red Riding Hood. 10 more stories are available at thefablecottage.com/french, however here you have to subscribe to get access to the video and audio.
L’école des Max by l’école des Loisirs
You can find audio versions of a lot of books on this website, some are easier to understand than others. Some however make no sense without the book (especially the ones for very small children). My children have subscription to these beautiful books, they receive a book per month during 8 months. They love them.
To listen to the different stories, all organized by age of the child, you can go to Ecole des max. This will take you to the English part of their website, where they have the audio books for their previous collections. Not all stories are written by French authors.
Books in French for younger children
The two books I will be discussing are books I have enjoyed reading as much as my children when they were younger.
Oops and Ohlala
There is a series of books called Oops and Ohlala by Mellow and Amélie Graux. If you can tell by the name, the two main characters, a panda and a bear, get in a little bit of trouble in every book. But it’s more funny and cute than worrisome. We have purchased quite a few of those books. I either read the book how it is written, which is every other page is in French or English. I sometimes translate everything to one language as well. The children learn small and easy everyday words, like beach-related vocabulary, clothings, food etc.
The books can be found on Amazon. Note that the audio version for the books is available at talentshauts. The books are read in French and British English.
Deux amis pour la vie
This is a book by Eric Battut. He is the author and illustrator of a lot of cute easy to read books. This one, which translates to Two friends for Life, tells the story of a unexpected friendship between a snail and an elephant.
Another book we have read over and over is “Veux-tu être mon ami?” (Do you want to be my friend?). Another story with animals looking to find friends. Simple drawings and cute story.
If you like his simplicity, know that he also has bilingual books.
Books in French for older children
The following books are my children’s favorites. These are stories or characters they appreciate, the stories are not necessarily all the most educative or reflective. But when your child reads, whatever it is, whatever the language (my children can now read both in French and English, I have read books in both languages since they were born), you are thankful.
Le petit Nicolas
This is a French classic. It tells the story of Nicolas, a little boy, in the fifties in France. Mostly stories and anecdotes from the real childhood of the author René Goscinny, what he remembers of his classmates and the fun and trouble he got into when growing up.
It reminds me of Eloïse in a more French boy version.
Those books naturally led to movies, cartoons etc. “Les aventures du Petit Nicolas” for instance is available on the French Netflix. The books can be found on Amazon.com.
Max et Lili
These books are written by author Dominique de Saint Mars.
Max and Lili are brother and sister. There are a lot of books in this series. They usually deal with a specific subject; you will for example find “Max et Lili décident de mieux manger” (Max and Lili decide to eat better), “Max est timide” (Max is shy), “Lili ne veut pas aller se coucher” (Lili doesn’t want to go to bed).
Some books can be quite pedagogic. Some teachers even use them in class to talk about certain issues (my son’s 2nd grade teacher for instance used the one about bullying).
The book resembles a comic book. It is easy to read, and allows for more in-depth conversations if need be. There are questions at the end of the book to help with that.
Tom-Tom et Nana
Tom-Tom and Nana are also brother and sister. However, they stay away from difficult issues. These books are more silly silliness than the Max and Lili books. It is a comic book.
The stories are often about the sister and brother scheming to get what they want. The text is written in cursive.
I remember reading them as a child, now my children enjoy them as well.
Hope this small list gave you a little help if you were wondering what to read in French with/to your children.
More recommended books later! Enjoy!
