Best Books to Read to Learn French
Learning a foreign language can be difficult. There are many various ways to learn, but one of the most effective is to read in that language. This way, you can learn conversational French and sentence structure without having to memorize anything. Here are some books that will help you learn French quickly!
Le Petit Prince
The Little Prince is a French literature classic that has been translated into all different languages. Written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, it tells the story of an adventurous little boy as he travels into space and time with his animal friends on profound adventures.
Learning a new language can be difficult, but this book is designed for beginners and intermediates. The le passé simple tense will make you think about how languages are used in different ways, from English to French. There’s also an audiobook version for those looking to practice their listening skills and reading comprehension abilities.
Le Petit Nicolas
The classic children’s series, Le Petit Nicolas- written by René Goscinny and charmingly illustrated by Jean Jacques Sempé is the best way to learn French. The books are narrated from a boy’s point of view as he lives out an idyllic childhood in 1950s France with friends on his block who speak only Spanish.
Learning French can be a difficult task, but not with these books! They are short and fun reads, perfect for beginners. The casual communication style in each book will challenge you while still being understandable by children at an early age level who have little or no knowledge of the language yet. We highly recommend checking out Les Vacances du Petit Nicolas if learning more about France through its culture is what gets your motor running. This adapted film has plenty more practice (and laughs!) waiting inside.
Asterix et Obelix
Astérix et Obélix is one of the most popular Franco-Belgian comics series in Europe. Created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, these stories record adventures mainly around Gaul (present-day France) and extend into Belgium.
These comics are heavy in French humor, as you may have guessed. It will help beginners, and intermediate learners understand the language’s style and everyday phrases with social criticism for those who need it most. A list of best books to learn from would be incomplete without this selection – and what better time than now?
Tintin
Tintin is a book about a reporter with a dog. The adventures of Tintin are set in 20th century Europe and revolve around crimes he solves to protect his friend Snowy from being kidnapped by criminals while on their travels through Belgium’s capital city Brussels.
If you’re looking for an engaging and delicious way to learn French, we highly recommend reading these comics. The drawings are fantastic, plus there’s wit in every page that makes it fun.
Le Chat du Rabbin
The story of the rabbi’s cat will make you laugh out loud. And what furry feline could teach us anything?
With its witty name and clever illustration style, Le chat du rabbin (The Rabbi’s Cat) takes readers on an entertaining journey through Purina-approved lessons about life as told by this lucky kitty!
It is an original graphic novel by French-Algerian comic artist Joann Sfar. It follows the story of a Jew in colonized Algeria during the 1920s – when Jews were still being expelled from France and allowed only limited emancipation. They could live there if they had enough money or family connections. This book is particularly suitable for beginners who want to learn more about Jewish history before World War II with informative and visually appealing illustrations.
L’élégance du Hérisson
L’élégance du hérisson is a philosophical novel about class consciousness, art, and philosophy. It has dual narrators that represent Renée (a student) and Paloma (the professor). The story builds on these themes by having them take part in various conflicts at university. One is with her French lecturer over what she believes is his pedantic tendencies towards Communism instead of Marxian dialectics, which leads to their break up when he leaves for America during lectures without notice because it’s where all good philosophers go.
This book is a great resource for beginners and intermediates. The example sentences are descriptive, and the vocabulary helps to practice describing people in French rather than just using common nouns like “man” or “horse.” There’s also a movie adaptation available online, which you can watch after reading this text since it will reinforce what was learned.
Summary
This blog post has given you several great tips on how to do so if you want to learn how to speak French quickly and with pleasure. We hope that you’ll take the leap of faith required for language learning by giving one or all of these books a try!
