I bought this book at the Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse in Montreuil, Paris, in 2016. I met its author there, Claire Cantais, whose name I recognised because by then I already owned “Je ne m’appelle pas Bernard”. Look at the lovely cut out she made just for me in the inside cover of my copy of the book! She was so lovely and meticulous with it!
You can start by watching a short video about the story!
Language of text: French
Type of text: picture book
Author and editor: Claire Cantais, L’atelier du poisson soluble
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2
Source reference: 9782913741607
Approaches:
This story is clear and simple until you get to the psychological part… so I would ensure that the children understand the words “terreur, tendresse, compréhension, crapule; seul, méchant” which could be part of some work on nouns and adjectives. However with older children this will not be essential as they will understand the twists thanks to the illustrations which are very clear and show the characters’ emotions.
The story can be read to the children as you stop and ask how Raoul is feeling: “Comment va Raoul? Bien, très bien?” or “Il est content/triste?” and the children reply in French.
Rationale:
This story is perfect if you want to talk to your class (in English might be easier!) about bullying and being kind to each other. It really will get the children thinking! I would link it to a PHSE/SMSC lesson.
Outcomes:
The children will realise that they can understand quite a complex story in French and pick out words (cognates) from it. It is good to introduce or reinforce vocabulary relating to feelings.
The children will really enjoy acting out the story in small groups and playing it out to the whole class. They could then, with your help, rewrite a kinder ending!
Topics or themes:
saying how you feel; anti-bullying awareness
Grammar:
recognising nouns and adjectives; the imperative
How much time required:
1 lesson
There are some online resources here which you can use to exploit this book further.
You can buy this story here on Amazon.fr.
Find out more about Claire Cantais’s work here on her website!
Can YOU please recommend a story with a fluffy book cover?
