A while back, while reading what I could (which is not very much) in Japanese, I noticed that once you knew the writing system, you could immediately read some picture books that are just illustrated dictionaries, as long as there is a direct correspondence between the text and the image. With this in mind, I thought I would compile a list of picture books that beginners in French can read right now. While I don’t have any that completely fall into that category, I have some that are easy for those who have the vocabulary of Episode 2 of the “I can’t believe I’m reading French” Gnomeville comic book series, being the 20 most frequently occurring words in French newspapers.
As the Gnomeville comic book series focuses on frequent words, which tend to be function words, learners don’t get exposed to common concrete nouns, adjectives and verbs, which tend to be much lower down the word frequency list. However, research suggests that concrete nouns are easier to learn and remember than function words. So, it might be valuable to read picture books in parallel with the comics. I don’t think it is worth memorising what you read, but with repeated exposure – especially with pictures – the words will become familiar.
With all that preamble out of the way, here is my list. I only have a few items so far, but will add any I find later. The episode numbers indicate the assumed vocabulary, where the only words that are not within that vocabulary are clearly defined by the illustrations. Where there is an asterisk (*) after the episode number, it means you need an additional word or two for complete coverage.
| Title | Author | Lengh | Read After Episode | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Un chat | Roger Paré | 110w | 2 | This short book adds a new item to the picture with each page. Annoyingly, it appears to be out of print, but if you access Libby via your library, you might be able to read it there. |
| Un éléphant | Roger Paré | 110w | 2 | This short book adds a new item to the picture with each page. Annoyingly, it appears to be out of print, but if you access Libby via your library, you might be able to read it there. |
| Le vert | Anna C. Peterson | 31w | 1* | This short book introduces various items that are green. You could read this after Episode 1, assuming you recognise the cognate couleur and note that cet means “this”. Once again, this is not available on-line, but can probably be read via Libby, which is where I found it. The rest of the series uses a bit more vocabulary but would be easy for those who have studied French for a few weeks. |
| Une maison | Annette Smith | 24w | 1* | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the nouns. All you need for this one is un, une, and voici (here is). |
| De grosse choses | Annette Smith | 34w | 1* | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the nouns. All you need for this one is un, une, est, and gros/grosse (big). The title includes “choses”, meaning “things”. |
| Maman | Annette Smith | 16w | 1* | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the verbs. All you need to know is that “maman” means mum/mom. |
| Les animaux | Annette Smith | 35w | 2* | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the nouns. All you need for this one is le, la, l’, les, est, d’, and ici (here). The title includes the cognate “animaux” (animals). |
| Moi | Annette Smith | 16w | 3 | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the verbs. All you need for this one is je. The title means “me”. |
| Je me déguise | Annette Smith | 32w | 3* | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the nouns. All you need for this one is je, un, and suis (am). The title means “I disguise myself”. |
| Nous sortons | Annette Smith | 39w | 4* | This is a level 1 book in the GB+ nouveaux lecteurs series. The pictures illustrate the nouns. All you need for this one is nous, à, la, au, de, l’, and allons (go). The title means “We go out.” |
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