Bénédicte Guettier (Gecko Press) Je m’habille et … je te croque, translated from the French by Pénélope Todd Guettier was a big presence in my children’s early experiences with books and it is a pleasure to see her translated into English. Inspired by the French comptine (song/nursery rhyme) Promenons-nous dans les bois (you will plenty of renditions of …
French Friday is back with a very entertaining guest post from Clémentine Beauvais, author of the Royal Babysitters series, the first tome of which was published earlier this month by Bloomsbury Children’s Books. Clémentine as you might have guessed by now, is French. She was born in Paris, but moved to England in her late teens. …
Fanny Britt (text) & Isabelle Arsenault (illustrations) translated from French by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou (Walker Books) Hélène has a tough time at school, secluded and taunted by her former friends about her weight. At home, her mother is exhausted and overworked. She finds comfort in reading Jane Eyre, identifying with the heroine’s hardships …
The Good Little Devil and Other Tales Pierre Gripari, with illustrations by Puig Rosado Le gentil petit diable et autres contes de la rue Broca, translated by Sophie Lewis (Pushkin Children’s Books) A French classic from the 1960s, this collection of thirteen eccentric short stories taps into our cultural heritage of fairy and folk tales and offers …
Gabrielle Vincent “Ernest et Célestine vont pique-niquer”, translated by Sam Alexander (Catnip Publishing) Ernest has promised Celestine they will go on a picnic and the little mouse is very much looking forward to it. When it pours down with the rain the next day, Ernest cannot bear to see Celestine disappointed. So, undeterred by the torrential rain, off …
Magazine reading is a big thing in France, much more than here, and it shows in the quality of magazines that are available, which is far superior to much of the stuff found on our shelves here. Bayard Presse is one of the three major children’s magazine publishers in France (along with Milan Presse and …
Mario Ramos“C’est moi le plus fort”, translated by Jean Anderson(Gecko Press) A rather conceited wolf decides after his lunch to wander through the forest for a bit of an ego polishing exercise. Each small creature he comes across is accosted and bullied into tell him that yes, indeed, he is the strongest creature in the …
Gabrielle Vincent“Ernest et Célestine ont perdu Siméon”, translated by Sam Alexander(Catnip) When Ernest and Celestine go for a walk in the snow, Simeon, Celestine’s stuffed penguin accompanies them. But when he is left behind, Celestine is heartbroken and blames Ernest. He is desperate to make amends but there are no toy penguins anywhere in town, …
Michaël Leblond (text) & Frédérique Bertrand (illustrations)“New York en Pyjamarama”(Phoenix Yard Books) A little boy is going to bed, but he is not quite ready to go to sleep. Instead, thanks to his very special striped pyjamas, he goes on a magical whirlwind tour of New York, the city that never sleeps; from the busy airport runway …
