French Language BD's for non-french speaker.

November 30, 2016 9:42 AM

When my kid was learning to read English, I picked up a copy of Hilda and The Bird Parade to read along with. The language is clear, concise and works really well with the pictures. (And is a great story.) So, I'm looking for a similar BD (bande dessinee) with French that is as clear and spare. Because of this, (very basic language required) Asterix and Lucky Luke haven't been cutting it. Hopefully at some point they will (because Goscinny is a hilarious, soul enriching writer) but I need bridge texts until then. Child is 13 and open minded.
posted by From Bklyn to Education (10 answers total)

Is Tintin too obvious? I grew up with a full set, but with a couple in French because they'd been bought before English translations came out, and I was Tintin-obsessed enough that I made it through them without difficulty.
posted by kmennie at 10:28 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Is Le Petit Nicolas too difficult? The stories are cute and I remember liking them as a French learning kid.
posted by Omnomnom at 11:59 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Obviously that depends on what comic book your son likes in his native language, but Boule et Bill immediately comes to mind.

Perhaps you should look at an online list of classic stuff, then Google each album to see what your kid might like. For almost all of hem, Google image allows you to read an actual full "planche"
posted by Kwadeng at 1:07 PM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My partner who is learning French has enjoyed the Donald Duck comics a lot. They're translated rather than original material, so I think the language is a bit simpler/closer to English sentence construction, and the characters are familiar. We pick them up at the dollar store here in Quebec, so score. Could also try translated superhero or "good" old Archie comics.
posted by Freyja at 2:20 PM on November 30, 2016 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I can't say enough good things about the French kids' magazines Tobogan and J'aime Lire, and both of them have BDs--esp. J'aime Lire. Even though they are for younger native French speakers, I bet that they would be great for a 13 year old language learner. They offer international subscriptions.
posted by umbú at 4:04 PM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: L'agent Jean and Max et Lili and Les Legendaires and les Dragouilles are the most popular originally French comics at the children's library I work at.

Also very popular are English GNs translated: Raina Telgemeier books, Chi (cat) comics, Amulet, Mario manga, pokemon and Adventure Time.

Other accessible books that are available in French include the Mr./Mrs. Series by Hargreaves, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries and the Connais-Tu and Savais-Tu series.
posted by eisforcool at 7:20 PM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Tinting was too hard last year, I'll try again but there's something about pages with very little text that makes them 'easier' or at least less overwhelming. Same with the Nick stories (that they know in German already.)
Looking for 'Savais-tu' on the publisher's page I saw 'Guiby' which looks like it fits the bill.
posted by From Bklyn at 1:17 AM on December 2, 2016

Do you think your reader would be comfortable with picture books? I could pass on the titles of french beginner readers that the french learners gravitate towards at our library.
posted by eisforcool at 8:47 AM on December 2, 2016

Response by poster: eisforcool, I would love some/any suggestions.
posted by From Bklyn at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2016

Best answer: Great! Here's what's popular and picture-heavy:

Elephant and Piggie beginner readers by Mo Willems (available in French)
The readers in this Quebecois series
This non-fiction series, and also the National Geographic Kids Series (available in French)
The Rat de bibliotheque series
The les mini detectives series
The Je peux lire series
The Cheval masque series
and the comic Leon by Annie Groovie

The majority of the series above are leveled, and I teach the kids to follow the levels up as they get more comfortable in their reading. The stories are mostly superficial though, so if your reader is looking for anything with substance it might be best to stick with the non-fiction or BDs from earlier. Happy reading!
posted by eisforcool at 5:32 PM on December 2, 2016