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This is an authentic, cute and very accessible (repetitive) story which will come in very handy if you are doing work about how things grow… or will be great just as a treat too!

Click here to watch a short video of me introducing the book on my YouTube channel.

Language of text: French
Author or source: Eric Battut; Didier Jeunesse
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2
Source reference: 9782278061549

Approaches:

This is the story of a mouse that finds an apple, decides it will keep it hidden behind it as a secret, but the apple slowly grows into a tree…

You can read this authentic and very simple story to little ones; they will be able to join in easily as it is very repetitive. On 1st reading, they can just say, on each double-page: “C’est mon secret”; on 2nd reading, they could all ask the question that is on each double-page: “Qu’est-ce que tu as caché ?”. If you are working on animals, they can also join in with saying what they are in French (écureuil, oiseau tortue, hérisson, lapin, grenouille).

The story can be used to look at how things grow and to write simple descriptions of the tree as it develops.

Rationale:
The children will be very amused by the simple pictures which show the tree growing in the mouse’s back without it noticing. It could be used to revise/introduce animals or to talk about how things grow. It conveys a positive message of sharing at the end.

Outcomes:
The children will enjoy the story and realise at the end that you can’t keep secret selfishly and it is good to share!
They could write their own version of the book with different animals and a different plant going through the different stages of growth.

Topics or themes:
Animals; seasons; growing; having secrets; sharing.

Grammar:
Asking questions; possessive adjective “mon”.

How much time required:
10 minutes to half a term

There are some beautiful worksheets to help you exploit this book here and here. There are more links to resources here.

You can now order this book (and many more!) here at Little Linguist; there are 2 formats available.

Are you still looking for a story about growing? Click here to read about my favourite ones!

Did you know this book? If so, what have you done with it? Please share your experience in the comments!

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Merci !

Nathalie