Probably a 4.5, but I’m happily rounding up! I have read many books that are meant to teach foreign language fluency through short stories, but this oProbably a 4.5, but I’m happily rounding up! I have read many books that are meant to teach foreign language fluency through short stories, but this one might be the very best I’ve found.
Here is the format for each chapter: 1) a short story in French; 2) a summary of the story, also in French; 3) a list of key vocabulary words and/or phrases, in both French and English; 4) a list of comprehension questions, all in French; 5) the answers, also in French; and 6) the same story again, but in English.
The speakers are easy to understand, the vocabulary is challenging for beginners but not impossible, and the whole tone is upbeat and encouraging. I really like the format, with the English translation coming last, after the vocab review and the questions. I especially like that the answers are given—not all language books do that, and it’s quite helpful. The ebook is easy to navigate, so anyone hoping to go back and hear parts of the story again will have no trouble doing so. Great thought was clearly put into the content of the stories, as each one seems planned to introduce the reader to vocabulary connected to a specific topic (e.g., the restaurant story gives the words for different types of food). The situations described (e.g., buying train tickets) are quite practical. The best part, for me, was that the stories were all connected. There was one main plot for the book, and each short story, featuring the same main characters, advanced the main storyline a little bit at a time. Each chapter really did feel like a chapter of a single, cohesive story....more
A joy. These simple stories are excellent for students of French, or for anyone looking to improve French vocabulary and confidence. The writing styleA joy. These simple stories are excellent for students of French, or for anyone looking to improve French vocabulary and confidence. The writing style may not be the most elegant—I think most of the stories are told in present tense only, for example—but the tales are straightforward and far more interesting than the plots of many other easy readers. Since most of my French reading happens via print books, I was happy for the chance to listen to this in an audio format. It gave me a chance to practice my understanding of spoken French. The stories were fun, and each was followed by a list of vocabulary and an English translation of the story. I was grateful very much for that, as it allowed me to check my understanding and fill in some holes. On a few of the tales, I re-read the French afterward, and I found I got even more out of it the second time.
I knew this book would be special right from the introduction. Many foreign language books start with something along the lines of "Thank you for buying this book. Foreign languages can enrich your life." This book, however, had a much friendlier attitude, more like, "Wow, you can do it, and I'm here to help. We'll have so much fun!" (Note: This is NOT a quote from the book. It's just my take on the author's tone at the beginning.) Reading this book was like having a friend by my side to help me with the tough bits. The reader was clearly a French native speaker, and strange as it may seem, I was grateful for his French accent when he read the English bits. It reminded me that both of them (the author and the reader) had been through all the rigors of learning a second language. Even though the narrator still had a French accent, he was completely intelligible and had an excellent command of the English language; it was a welcome reminder that one doesn't have to be perfect to be understood. ...more
Charming, whimsical artwork, variety of languages and phrases, maps showing relationship between the different countries’ languages.
The bad:
FThe good:
Charming, whimsical artwork, variety of languages and phrases, maps showing relationship between the different countries’ languages.
The bad:
First of all, so many languages didn't make the cut. So many common languages. This book is advertised as featuring both common and lesser-known languages, and for highlighting more than just a country's official language when there are pocket communities who use another. So, for example, how is it Canada's and the USA's substantial population of Pennsylvania Dutch speakers don't seem to exist here? It's such a distinct dialect of Deutsch (Deitsch!), and it covers such a broad geographic range, and it isn't even mentioned. Also, too much information that did make the cut has been relegated to the app. No pronunciation is given (not even IPA, which is both succinct and precise), nor any explanation on the languages and their difference. I have listened, for example, to the news from Paris and from Quebec, and even though they’re both recorded in French, they have a distinctly different sound. The Democratic Republic of the Congo uses yet a different style of pronunciation. In addition, even the similarities are hard to spot. Languages that are related often have words that are cognate, but here, the related languages are often separated by others in between, making it hard to see their linguistic connection. There’s enough here to inspire kids, I guess, but I think the most I got out of it was being able to look at a map and see (some of the places) where these different languages are spoken. I don’t know how useful or practical any of it is.
The ugly:
I had such a wretched time with the app. I thought, when I got the book, that the book would be a complete thing unto itself. But that’s not the case here; this book is meant to be read alongside an app that will talk in all the languages. That sounded nice at first, since I’d much rather hear something than read a person try to describe how something should sound. However, it was a little alarming to me how absolutely central the app was to understanding the book. (I mean, doesn’t the book mean anything?) Anyway, I installed the app, and it doesn’t work. I can select a country or a language, and I can see the picture of a smiling child, but the app freezes up and won’t speak. I tried restarting, uninstalling, reinstalling—nothing. I told some relatives, and we tried it on three different devices, and it didn’t work anywhere. Worse, I couldn’t even delete it successfully; now, it randomly keeps trying to re-install itself, and it makes the whole device crash. I can’t make it go away. So, to sum up, the book is kind of worthless without the app, and the app is kind of worthless anyway. Cute pictures, and a nice idea, but far too inaccessible to be worthwhile....more
2.5 stars A nice idea, but the execution isn’t as good as it should be. Don’t get me wrong—I like the idea of using songs to help learn a language. I h2.5 stars A nice idea, but the execution isn’t as good as it should be. Don’t get me wrong—I like the idea of using songs to help learn a language. I have used them myself on other occasions; they are wonderful as a language tool. Songs tend to use a slightly richer vocabulary than is found in ordinary conversation, and the music slows down the words, making it easier for children to hear the individual phonemes. I have especially enjoyed the light songs can shed on grammatical structure; the music makes it easy to recall the specific words, giving children a nice template for creating similar sentences.
These songs don’t do that so much. For one thing, they really aren’t traditional French songs for the most part; they’re traditional English songs that have been translated into French. Sometimes it’s awkward and stilted, and this means that the words aren’t always as fluid and natural as they should be. Second, it means that there is no translation given, just the English words, and since they worked so hard to recreate the same rhyme and meter in French, the songs’ meanings have changed a great deal. So it isn’t learning a song in a foreign language as much as it is simply repeating syllables whose real meaning has been lost. Third, the singers on the CD aren’t quite all together. They’re singing in a chorus in slightly different time (which is cute and all), but this makes it very difficult to understand the sounds.
The most useful parts of this book are the spoken bits, where the children in the story use simple words to introduce their family, their pets, and their home. But the music is more a distraction than a resource. All in all, it’s a nice diversion, but it’s unlikely to provide the linguistic aid that parents might expect....more
This was interesting. As far as I know, this is the only book in my local public library system to have full text in German, French, and English. It mThis was interesting. As far as I know, this is the only book in my local public library system to have full text in German, French, and English. It may be the only tri-lingual book they have. So of course I had to read it, but I will be the first to admit that it was the writing, not the content, that drew me in. I started with German, which is by far my weakest of the three languages, and I wasn't understanding the introduction very well: just bits and pieces. So I switched to French, but I found that it still wasn't making sense, which troubled me greatly, as I've studied French for years. So I switched to English, which I think I speak fairly well all things considered, and I was relieved to find that switching to my mother tongue did pretty much nothing to improve my comprehension. (This gives me hope for my French!) The introduction is bizarre, to say the least. It makes passing references to things for which I have no context, and the whole section is bogged down by a philosophical (or perhaps pseudo-philosophical) meditation on time: on what it is and how it works, on time's connection to Yahweh (but in a kind of secular context), on eternal time, on non-eternal time, on time as it's understood in Jerusalem, and so on. It is entirely possible that this author was trying to make an intelligent and sophisticated point that was above my comprehension. It is also possible that the author didn't explain enough or give in enough context to be understood, and if so, then that's just sad. It's one thing not to be understood once, but this writer had three chances in three different languages and wasn't clear in any of them. In reading this, I had the impression that the author was just trying too hard to sound enlightened. Once the book gets going, though, it gets much better. The images themselves are quite lovely. The decision to use only black and white images made for a striking effect, and the pictures show different elements of the city in all their glory. One improvement I would suggest would be to have captions for the pictures. There are no captions, only end notes, which means that readers unfamiliar with the city must choose between a smooth reading experience and knowing what it is that is being seen. But those end notes are meaningful, interesting, and definitely worth the time of seeking them out....more
I thought the little prince himself was a very interesting character: unworldly, immature, tenacious, proud, stubborn, somber, and capable of showing I thought the little prince himself was a very interesting character: unworldly, immature, tenacious, proud, stubborn, somber, and capable of showing enormous kindness. But this remarkable character is wrapped up in a story so heavy-handed that much of the charm was lost. The ambiguity of the tale tends toward the downright vague, and the plot itself, especially the ending, relies so much on literary analysis and interpretation that it seems insubstantial on its own merits. I understand what the author was doing, and I know that the point of not giving answers is to show that there are no answers. Even so, while I appreciate the symbolic and allegorical implications, I feel that they were overdone. I found it too didactic. There was too much moral and not enough story, IMO.
I am reminded of a quote by J. R. R. Tolkien: “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.” I think that applies to this story. It’s true that there are certain elements that can be interpreted in different ways, but much of this does reflect “the purposed domination of the author.” I can see why this story would appeal to some people, especially grownups, but it just wasn’t for me....more
This is perhaps the best-known version of La Belle et la Bête (and the only version I could find on Hoopla). It’s a much shorter adaptation of the oriThis is perhaps the best-known version of La Belle et la Bête (and the only version I could find on Hoopla). It’s a much shorter adaptation of the original story by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. It was sweet in places, and moving, but also it felt a bit rushed at times. I’m curious as to what was cut out, and while this version is decent in its own right, my overwhelming feeling upon finishing was simply a strong desire to read the original....more
A charming story about a cat looking for a human. Funny and sweet, this picture book tells of the pet-adoptions process from the cat’s point of view. A charming story about a cat looking for a human. Funny and sweet, this picture book tells of the pet-adoptions process from the cat’s point of view. Gentle illustrations add warmth....more
This story was sweet and charming. The only black cat of the litter watches all the other kittens go to good homes . . . but black cats are too unluckThis story was sweet and charming. The only black cat of the litter watches all the other kittens go to good homes . . . but black cats are too unlucky for people to want them! This is a story about a cat who loves having black fur, who discovers that being lucky has nothing to do with what other people say, and who rises above long-standing superstitions with good cheer. Kids might enjoy the fun story for its own sake, while deeper themes of self-worth, family support, and prejudice enrich the experience.
The version I read had been translated into French....more
A very nice alphabet book for children. Each letter stands for a word, and each word is the topic of a mini story, almost a vignette, most of which arA very nice alphabet book for children. Each letter stands for a word, and each word is the topic of a mini story, almost a vignette, most of which are 1 to 3 paragraphs long. The topics vary widely. Cute, vintage, and quaint....more
Mark Twain's sense of humor is peculiar, for want of a better word. I think I understand what he was trying to do here, but if I could sum this book uMark Twain's sense of humor is peculiar, for want of a better word. I think I understand what he was trying to do here, but if I could sum this book up in just one word, I would call it strange. I'm always amused when an author addresses the readers (say, in an introduction, or in an afterward) without actually breaking from the fiction of the narrative, and that seems to be the whole point of this revenge edition.
"The Amazing Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is a short story about a man who gets roped into listening to another man who loves to hear himself talk. The poor guy has to sit through a stream of meaningless stories that don't seem to go anywhere, and he can't get a word in edgewise. The man talks about a horse, about a sick woman, about a dog, and of course, about a jumping frog. It's not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the humor that comes first of all from the dialect, secondly from the archetype of the old-timer who leisurely rambles on about whatever comes into his head, and thirdly, and to a much lesser degree, the weird nature of the stories themselves.
This edition, however, isn't really about the original short story. Twain must have really loved framing because he takes his handful of stories within a story and shoves the whole lot into yet another story. Twain introduces the text by saying that he wants to rebut an unfavorable review about his talents as a humorist; his argument is that the reviewer (who was French) did not get to appreciate his work fully because he was reading a crummy translation that screwed up the humor of the tale. This introduction is some of the funniest prose in the book. Twain includes his original story, the French translation, and his English re-translation of the French.
It is here that the humor falls flat, at least for me. Twain's goal here is *not* to show his anglophone readers how the French experienced his work. His goal is to entertain, and he does this by offering a silly re-translation, mistranslating (I assume on purpose) so that he can poke fun at --what, exactly? French syntax? The lack of a French equivalent to an American southern drawl? The idea of translation? All of the above, perhaps. But what I don't understand is why. He claims to have done the translation himself, and he also claims not to speak French. These claims may or may not be true; I get the feeling he's spinning another yarn. And, as though to substantiate these claims, the translation is bad. I mean really, really bad. Again, I assume this is deliberate. How else would he get away with translating adjectives as nouns and treating single negations as double?
The actual story within a story within a story -- the actual part about a frog -- would not be interesting at all without the frame of the long-winded storyteller with a captive audience. Yet the pseudo-translation, which is hilarious by itself (seriously, just try to read it out loud with a straight face), loses all its power in the framing. Twain snarkily calls it a serious translation, and clearly he means it NOT to be, and somehow, this just seems like an odd vehicle for such a hatchet job.
But that's not all! What's a revenge translation without an epilogue? Twain tells of an encounter with a man who claims that the story of the jumping frog dates back to antiquity. According to the epilogue, this man produced a book containing an ancient Greek tale that is eerily close to Twain's story. At first, Twain says that he had not meant to repeat the story. He says that he had never heard of the story, and that the similarities are just a coincidence. Then, Twain claims that the stories are far too similar, and he realizes that the alleged ancient text was phony. I don't know how to respond to this, since I think there's a pretty good chance that the whole epilogue was phony. If so, it's perhaps one of the more interesting takes on an unreliable narrator. I have read fiction books with nonfiction, honest, serious introductions and afterwards. This was not one of them. Then again, it's Twain, so what did I expect?...more
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