Yes, I am still going through books which I fell in love with in Paris in December 16…
I met the illustrator there, Vincent Bourgeau…
and here is the picture of Mini Miss Paris which he drew for me!
Language of text: French
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Ramadier & Bourgeau
Intended age of students: Key Stages 1/2/3
Source reference: 9782211219594
Approaches:
This is the story of a sleepy book… What will you and your children need to do to help it go to sleep?
After a 1st reading, we can encourage the children to join in the story with actions; after a second reading, they could join in with asking the questions: “est-ce que tu…?”
The children could recreate the story in pairs with one child being the book, the other the mouse they swap roles.
Please note I have used this with reception children before and it worked a treat.
Rationale:
This is not just a book: it is a toy and a pacifier, it shows you and tells you what to do!
This book is simple enough for all children to understand but the language is developed enough for it to be a challenge when you look at it more closely and use it (see grammar topics).
Outcomes:
This story may remind older children what they used to do at bedtime; it could lead to a discussion about what they should maybe do now at bed time, eg not go on their phones if they have them!
The children could then come up with their own version in French of their ideal bedtime routine: est-ce que tu as fait tes devoirs? Est-ce que tu as éteint ton téléphone? They could do their real one too! Est-ce que tu as regardé la télé / vérifié Facebook? You may be pleasantly surprised!
Topics or themes:
Daily routine
Grammar:
How to ask questions; the past tense with “être”; the imperative
How much time required:
1-2 lessons
For more ideas about what you could do with this book, click here. There is a template here of the little pink mouse on each page so you can make a puppet of it; there are also templates of book marks which you could make.
Before you decide if you would like to buy, you can look at and listen to the story here; it is an official video by l’école des loisirs. You can also use it with your pupils if you do not feel confident enough to read it to them yourself.
You can buy it here on Amazon.co.uk. Do you like this book? How about checking out “Le livre en colère” too? How about the authors’ other books on their website? Click here to check their books which I recommend and have written blogs about. Enjoy!
By the way the authors have informed me that you can also buy this story in English, “Shhh, this book is sleeping“. It would make a lovely present for a little one!
Do you know of any other books where the book itself is the main character?