Here are 100 books that Finding Francois fans have personally recommended if you like
Finding Francois.
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I am an American children’s author and expat living in France. Holding a bilingual master’s from La Sorbonne University in Paris, I now teach both English and French as foreign languages to children and adults of all ages. A Francophile since my very first French lessons back in high school, I now enjoy French citizenship and am happy to be “living my best life” between my two countries. I am passionate about promoting literacy and the languages I hold dear.
I adore the gorgeous depictions of the Dordogne region of France in this book—they are truly a feast for the eyes!
As for the story itself, I enjoy the subtle humor of the piggy characters’ personalities, particularly the main character, Martine’s ennui and the boorishness of her romantic interest, Raoul. This is a French fairytale for both animal fans and gastronomy lovers.
Left behind in the forest by her disgusted owner because she is unable to find truffles, Martine the pig, while trying to find her way home, meets a handsome wild boar who teaches her all about this great woodland delicacy
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
I am an American children’s author and expat living in France. Holding a bilingual master’s from La Sorbonne University in Paris, I now teach both English and French as foreign languages to children and adults of all ages. A Francophile since my very first French lessons back in high school, I now enjoy French citizenship and am happy to be “living my best life” between my two countries. I am passionate about promoting literacy and the languages I hold dear.
I found this book to be very useful for parents and educators, since it shows mixed media illustrations using real photographs of Paris, while introducing kids to actual French words and phrases.
As the title suggests, it also dishes up a delicious description of making crêpes in the French capital city.
Take your children on a trip to Paris with Suzette, the crêpe maker, and her artistic customers. As Suzette sells her delicacies over the course of a day, you will be treated to the sights and sounds of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, from Nôtre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower. Suzette's customers along the way are inspired by works of art, such as da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Degas's Little Dancer. Children will learn some key French words and phrases. As delicious as Suzette's crêpes, this book will captivate children--and parents-- who will want to make the…
I am an American children’s author and expat living in France. Holding a bilingual master’s from La Sorbonne University in Paris, I now teach both English and French as foreign languages to children and adults of all ages. A Francophile since my very first French lessons back in high school, I now enjoy French citizenship and am happy to be “living my best life” between my two countries. I am passionate about promoting literacy and the languages I hold dear.
I fell in love with the adorable illustrations of this sweet and funny story in which Escargot wanders from page to page, determined to reach the tasty salade at the very end of the book.
Charmingly addressing the reader at every turn, Escargot narrates his own story in a French accent that begs to be read aloud.
2
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Escargot
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This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
Bonjour! Escargot is a beautiful French snail who wants only two things: 1. To be your favourite animal. 2. To get to the delicious salad at the end of the book. But when he gets to the salad, he discovers that there's a carrot in it. And Escargot hates carrots. But when he finally tries one - with a little help from you! - he discovers that it's not so bad after all.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
I am an American children’s author and expat living in France. Holding a bilingual master’s from La Sorbonne University in Paris, I now teach both English and French as foreign languages to children and adults of all ages. A Francophile since my very first French lessons back in high school, I now enjoy French citizenship and am happy to be “living my best life” between my two countries. I am passionate about promoting literacy and the languages I hold dear.
I bought this book during a weekend trip to Paris, and it turned out to be my favorite souvenir.
The author and illustrator are a husband and wife team, and they’ve cooked up a lovely character in Kylie, who is based on a real-life crocodile found once upon a time in the canals of Paris!
This children's book follows the story of Kylie, a crocodile that lives in the Canal Saint-Martin of Paris. She explores Paris secretly by day, watching people from the safety of storm drains (can you find her on every page?).
At night, she sneaks out of the canal, via the sewers, and into some of the most famous places in Paris like the Louvre Museum and the big department stores.
Written and illustrated by Paris couple Oliver and Lina Gee, you'll surely delight in Paris as seen from the eyes of a crocodile. Don't miss the informative and fun Paris facts…
Novelist, poet and scriptwriter. My interest in young narrators stems from a desire to effectively capture the voices of children in my novels. Creative writing PhD studies with the University of South Wales encouraged me to research different strategies and techniques used by published authors and to experiment with them in my writing. The String Games my debut novel was the result of this academic and creative journey. Further novels continue to include young voices in a starring role as I get inside the heads of a range of characters. After a stint as a university lecturer, I dabbled in fiction for children and through a collaboration with illustrator Fiona Zechmeister, Pandemonium a children’s picture book was published in 2020.
Five-year-old Peony narrates the story of her life in Southern France and the imaginary world which she creates with the younger Margot. Known as Pea, she lives in a rundown farmhouse, where her recently bereaved and heavily pregnant English mother sleeps most of the time. Bold and brave, Pea’s ability to cope with absent parenting is beautifully imagined. She looks after herself and Margo and makes forays into the community her mother has rejected. The language she uses and her understanding of the world is delightfully quirky.
During one long, hot summer, five-year-old Pea and her little sister Margot play alone in the meadow behind their house, on the edge of a small village in Southern France. Her mother is too sad to take care of them; she left her happiness in the hospital, along with the baby. Pea's father has died in an accident and Maman, burdened by her double grief and isolated from the village by her Englishness, has retreated to a place where Pea cannot reach her - although she tries desperately to do so.
Then Pea meets Claude, a man who seems to…
I lived an isolated and sometimes nomadic adolescence. My struggling single mother had untreated paranoid schizophrenia and believed herself to be a prophet. The world, as she saw it, was a strange and scary place, and she raised me and my sister to believe as she did. But being an avid reader and artist, I would escape into my own fantasy worlds to find hope and meaning. Now, as an adult, I use my art and writing to make sense of trauma, and I hope my stories can inspire and empower the people who read them.
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated and relatable books I’ve ever come across. Helene is a young girl who escapes loneliness and bullying at school by diving into the fictional world of Jane Eyre.
The artwork is a perfect expression of Helene’s inner journey. When she finally finds a true friend, I couldn’t help but feel as hopeful and empowered as she does.
An emotionally truthful and visually stunning graphic novel about solace and redemption.
"A superb, masterful piece of work." Financial Times
"A graphic novel so well drawn and beautifully told I'm certain it will speak to adults too" Observer
Helene is not free to hide from the taunts of her former friends in the corridors at school. She can't be invisible in the playground or in the stairways leading to art class. Insults are even scribbled on the walls of the toilet cubicles. Helene smells, Helene's fat, Helene has no friends ... now. When Helene's heart hammers in her chest as…
It’s not my fault! My foremothers were strong, capable, compassionate women. I have been passionate about restoring the voices and contributions of women to history and culture. While a voracious reader of history, I enjoy historical fiction (when it’s done well). History tells us what happened; historical fiction tells us what it was like to live through events. I love author’s notes and/or historical notes where the author explains what is real and what is imagined; and resources to learn more about the subject of the novel.
I loved and appreciated the way the life and writings of Christen de Pizan (the first woman to earn a living as an author) were revealed—Christine’s inner emotional world and the very real suspicion of women’s morality and intellect. I was immersed into the world of 14th Century Paris with all the politics that widow Christine needed to navigate to support her family and herself.
I loved the historical detail, although I had to look up some words (that’s okay!) from that era. Great characters.
“Sprightly and sparkling...dramatic incidents abound...a lively rendering of a life and mind that inspires.” In the year of grace 1396, Christine de Pizan is a young Parisian woman living in a tower overlooking the Seine, but hers is no fairy story. Since her beloved husband's death, she struggles daily to support her aged mother and two small children. Seeking to ease her broken heart, Christine begins to write poetry in a delicate blend of form and emotion that provides a much-needed outlet for her loneliness and sorrow.
In time, Christine begins reading her verses at court, attracting the interest of…
As a young boy, I dreamed of becoming a novelist. I was fascinated and inspired by Les Années Folles, The Crazy Years of 1920’s Paris, when artists of all disciplines, from countries all around the world came together electrifying the City of Lights with an artistic passion. My mother was French. France is my 2nd country, where I spend a portion of each year. While researching my novel, The Memory of Love, I stayed in the actual atelier of my protagonist Chrysis Jungbluth, a young, largely unknown painter of that era. I visited, too, the addresses of dozens of the artists who bring the era alive again in our imagination.
Having read well over two dozen books on the subject of French history, with a general focus on the especially vibrant period in Paris from the end of World War I to the beginning of World War II, and a laser focus on the 1920s, I find it nearly impossible to rank these five books in the order of their importance. That said, I am choosing this book as my 1st recommendation because at 416 pages, and richly illustrated by hundreds of stunning photographs and images, it casts the broadest, most comprehensive net over this extraordinary era. I proclaim the two decades in Paris that readers will discover in this book, to represent the most important international convergence of painters, sculptors, intellectuals, novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, dancers, actors, choreographers, musicians, composers, photographers, designers, and fashionistas, in the history of the world. Do I exaggerate? Here is a very incomplete list,…
During the années folles following World War I, Paris underwent a creative fever that brought artists and intellectuals from around the world to the City of Light. The bohemian charms of Montparnasse attracted artists such as Picasso, Chagall, and Giacometti, while a vibrant café culture provided a forum for disputes between Dadaists and Surrealists and gave rise to a group of expatriate writers. The creative energy was all-encompassing, establishing Paris as the epicenter of new trends in the arts, a position it would occupy until World War II. This newest title in a celebrated series addresses such diverse topics as…
As Series Editor for Unheard Voices, I believe in the importance of the public gaining access to the voice of lived experience as it relates to the intractable issue of homelessness in our cities. Having gone through a brief period of not having any permanent residence in my twenties, I always had or felt a degree of affinity for the homeless and dedicated at least part of my career as a psychiatrist and then as a social entrepreneur to their plight.
The go-to book about voluntary homelessness, I always appreciate George Orwell’s amazing writing. It’s hard to put down.
The first half is about his time as a lowly kitchen assistant in the basement of a Parisian restaurant in the 1930s. The brutal divide between the rich and the destitute is better depicted here than in anything else I’ve ever read. The second half describes his time back in England and provides a heart-rending understanding of why homeless people are referred to as tramps and the ultimate emptiness of church-organized aid.
Although Orwell always had the option to opt out, his study of the lived experience of homelessness and the skill with which he captured it afterwards stand out as a colossus of the genre.
From the author of 1984, the classic semi-autobiographical story about the adventures of a penniless British writer in two cities.
Down and Out in Paris and London follows the journey of a writer among the down-and-out in two great cities. Without self-pity and often with humor, this novel is Orwell at his finest-a sobering, truthful protrayal of poverty and society.
When I headed the Executive Education Center at the University of Michigan I had the opportunity to meet with many great leaders and observe them in action. I also enjoy interacting with faculty colleagues who conduct state-of-the-art research on leadership. Because of this experience, I believe that leaders are made, not born, and that reading biographies, psychological studies, philosophical commentary, histories, and fiction like the books on my list is one of the best ways to gain insight into what you need to become a great leader.
This is the heartwarming and inspiring story of the journey a great chef took from serving as a lowly apprentice to becoming a leader in establishing new food traditions in America. I especially enjoyed the many funny stories about Pepin and his family. Warning: the book includes many of his favorite recipes that will cause hunger pangs as you read the book.
In this captivating memoir, the man whom Julia Child has called “the best chef in America” tells the story of his rise from a frightened apprentice in an exacting Old World kitchen to an Emmy Award–winning superstar who taught millions of Americans how to cook and shaped the nation’s tastes in the bargain.
We see young Jacques as a homesick six-year-old boy in war-ravaged France, working on a farm in exchange for food, dodging bombs, and bearing witness as German soldiers capture his father, a fighter in the Resistance. Soon Jacques is caught up in the hurly-burly action of his…
