I came across this fun and beautiful book whilst doing research on puppet shows in French in the UK: it is how I discovered the whole world of “Le petit monde” in Edinburgh! (click here to check out their website). Its creator, Tania, got in touch with me, we had a chat… We have so much in common! But i am here to talk about the book…
Languages of text: English with dialogues in French
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Tania and Olivier Czajka
Intended age of students: Key Stages 1/2
Approaches: what I want to do with the book
This is the story of the day Lapin is hungry… what will he get to eat?
As the narration of the book is in English and the dialogues only in French, you can read it all the way through, without needing to stop to explain anything, even to very young children. On second reading, you could stop and ask the children who they think Lapin is, what they think the word means in French, and practise saying it, saying “bonjour Lapin !”, for instance. You could do this for the 4 animals. After you have practised saying all the animals in French, you could read the story again: this time the children have to say the names of the animals in French when you pause and point to them, thus helping you tell the story. You can do the same thing with the 3 vegetables mentioned.
Rationale: why I want to use it
The book is cute and beautifully illustrated with colourful and clear pictures. The story is simple yet effective: you can tell it has been thought about very carefully. It is fun, easily accessible to little ones and useable for adults, whether they know French or not.
The story helps the children to learn and practise names of animals, vegetables, but also keep phrases in French, like greetings, non merci etc.
Outcomes for my pupils:
The book comes with an audio version of it, so can be used by adults that do not know how to pronounce the French words, which is very helpful. It also comes with postcards showing puppet versions of the animals in the story: you can use them as flashcards to practise saying and memorising their names; there is also a cut out of “My wonderful world of Lapin”, made to encourage children to come up with their own Lapin story. This will be less daunting than any writing that you ask the children to do in French only and will enable them to use their imagination. Finally, you get a lovely colouring sheet, and another one with the words to a cute “Lapin is hungry” song. There is so much for little ones to do with this!
Topics or themes: animals in the garden, vegetables, food
How much time required:
1-2 lessons
Do you like the look of it? Then get in touch now with Tania at info@lepetitmonde.co.uk or on 07910045743. She will send you a signed copy of the book, including the resources I mentioned above and P&P (UK only), for £8.50.
What do you think of what you saw of “Lapin is hungry”? Please tell me in the comments!
