There’s an Arabic saying: « books are humans’ best friends » so what’s better than learning a new language and getting to know its literature and culture with your best friend. In this sense, the present article will present to you 5 must read books in French that may become your best friend.
- Le petit prince
A classic of French literature written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. It is the story of a boy, the little prince, who travels through the universe and takes the reader with him and his stories into a more peaceful world. It appears to be a children’s book, which it is, but if you dig a little deep down, you will see that it is a work of philosophy including a beautiful story about friendship and love. Everyone can have their own interpretation of “le petit prince”, so what will yours be?
- Le petit Nicolas
As in “the little Nicolas” written by René Goscinny. It is about a young pupil’s life: Nicolas who tells us about his family, his school which he loves so much, his classmates and their neighbor’s daughter.
Reading this book is like reading a little boy’s diary. In fact, it will allow you to dive into Nicolas’ world and learn French in the easiest way.
Now let’s move on to another genre of books: Comics. We will suggest two of the best and authentic comics that you will enjoy reading while learning French.
- Asterix: le Gaulois
French comic strip written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo. These two people managed to write picturesque and endearing characters. This comic that speaks of folklore of resistance to the Roman occupation allows us to follow the adventures of Asterix, this little Gaul of 50 years before Jesus. If you liked this first volume, you will surely like the others.
- Tintin
Also a French comic strip written and drawn by Georges Remi. It is a series of 25 books in total. It allows diving into the adventures of Tintin: a young reporter always accompanied with his dog Milou, in the quest to resolve crimes.
Tintin’s adventures are the perfect combination of police stories, science fiction, imagination and humor.
Last but not least, if you are a fan of the saga Harry Potter written by J.K Rowling, you can still enjoy reading it in French as it’s translated in an easy-to-read language, because a little bit of magic is never harmful.
Finally, we will leave you with a few suggestions of short stories in French that you might enjoy and learn French phrases with:
- “Jack et l’haricot magique”
- “Hansel et Gretel”
- “La barbe bleue”
- “Le chat botté”