Bonjour! French has to be one of the most beautiful and richest languages in the world. While one may want to learn Flaubert’s ‘Madame Bovary or Proust’s ‘Remembrance of things past, those aren’t exactly the books that people still new to French can read easily. It is much better to go short stories for kids instead. These sweet little short stories are perfect for kids – not unlike Italian stories for beginners. This article is going to discuss six short stories for children that are perfect for those new to this language. These include the following:
- Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince
Listed in Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century, ‘The Little Prince’ is the first and perhaps most famous book on this list. The picture book can be read and enjoyed by both kids and adults alike. It is also a book that preaches some valuable lessons on life. One can go following the reading session by a watch of animated movie made on the basis of the book writing services. The pictures can help one understand better what is happening, and it is always smart to go for books with children, particularly when one is new to a language.
- La Fontaine’s Fables or Fontaine’s Fables
These fables were collected by Jean de La Fontaine in the late 1600s. A fable is a very short story often involving speaking animals that comes with a lesson or moral at the end. This particular collection, being old, may employ some archaic forms, but they are only minor anomalies. Moreover, the collection is in the public domain and thus can be availed for free.
- “Le Petit Pianiste” or “The Little Pianist”
The simple short story has an easy-to-understand plot, and moreover, one can also take the help of a YouTube video to understand it better.
- “La Symbiose” or “Symbiosis”
La Symbiosis is a modern fable of sorts. Symbiosis is the natural relationship in which animals may form partnerships that are mutually beneficial.
- “Cendrillon” or “Cinderella”
After all, who doesn’t know the story of this orphaned girl tortured by her stepmother and step-sisters and helped by the fairy godmother? Someone new to French can learn one of many French renditions of the story of this girl with a missing silver shoe to further master this difficult language.
- “Chat Botté” or “Puss in Boots”
Another classic, this short story follows the adventure of a young man who inherits only a cat from his father.
Things to be kept in mind while using above mentioned stories
Some of the stories may employ more archaic forms or words and grammar, and it is important that one should note when it occurs. Such forms are no longer used as such. Another thing to note is that this is by no means an exclusive list, as there are many more short stories that can be used for the purpose.
The Bottom Line
One can easily wrap up the above discussion by concluding that, much like short stories in Italian for learning Italian, using short stories in French is a great way of learning French.