Le Petit Nicolas (French Edition)
by Sempe-Goscinny
Our Price: $7.80
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sempe-GoscinnyBrand: Books
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: French (Unknown); French (Original Language); French (Published)
Published: 1994-02-11
ISBN: 2070364232
Number of pages: 156
Publisher: Gallimard
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9782070364237
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Le Petit Nicolas (French Edition)
Book Review: Hard to overstate the charm....
Summary: 5 Stars
It would be hard to overstate the charm of these wonderful stories. Like many others, I picked up this book to help with my project of trying to teach myself French. Not only does it serve that purpose, but it is so engaging that it has held me on course when the inherent difficulty of the language and some cross-cultural exasperation has tempted me to chuck the whole project. No way could I ever write this little dude and his copains out of my life.
Although hilarious, the Nicolas stories also touch you in a much deeper place. He is a little boy full of life and good humor, but he and his friends are also filled with every possible anxiety about growing up and finding their manly places in the world. They are charmingly obsessed with their status and their dignity.
One of my favorite stories is "Louisette," which recounts the visit of a young girl who comes with her mother for tea. Nicolas is pouty from the beginning as his mother dresses him up, in his view, like a clown. And maman assures him that if he doesn't show that he is well raised, he will have an affair with her!
Although Nicolas is always filled with explanations that burst forth in run-on sentences, this traumatic visit brings him close to tears more than once. In Nicolas's world, not crying is one of the main imperatives. Another is assuming a male's naturally dominant [irony] and superior role over young girls, who, after all, cry all the time.
Louisette starts off telling Nicolas that he looks like a monkey and things go downhill from there. She is so much more quick-witted, not to mention athletic, that she repeatedly leaps ahead and distracts him just when he is deciding whether to give her a punch in the nose or to pull her hair. And it is Louisette who is landing all the successful coups on Nicolas. Meanwhile, Louisette is always batting her eyelashes at the mamans and impressing them with what an adorable innocent she is!
As with the "Louisette" story of a young boy having to deal with a very formidable young girl who does not fit into his template defining his superior place in the world, all these stories are filled with such very real anxieties of male childhood. Let me say again, though, they are very, very funny! You love this kid.
How easy/difficult is this book for a student of French. My feeling is that previous reviews have made it seem a little easier than it is. There are definitely difficult bits such as when Nicolas is playing cowboys and describes all the various cowboy accoutrements that he and his friends have hung on themselves. Often, too, sentences are very run-on, mimicking Nicolas's overflowing emotions and self-justifications. And the mannerisms of his speech are realistic and more difficult than the dry dialogue of textbooks. But this is worth a little difficulty - I just want to caution against expecting a child's book to be extremely easy. It is manageable, but not in the first few weeks of studying French.
I also have a two-CD set of these stories read in French which I ordered from Amazon.fr. The CD set is a dramatic reading and it is an absolute delight. But it is considerably more difficult than the book. Those run-on sentences are read in rapid bursts, as intended. The reading wonderfully captures the charm of the book but definitely does not make it any easier.
My only exasperation with the Nicolas books is that I can not share them with my English-only friends. They touched me so much and made me laugh so hard. I hope I have inspired someone here.
Summary of Le Petit Nicolas (French Edition)
Summary:0
About the Author:
?0
Author:Sempe-Goscinny
Illustrator:0
Publisher:Gallimard
Published Date:02/11/1994
ISBN:2070364232
#of pages:#N/A
Multilingual Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Multilingual Books
Collins My First English-English-Kannada Dictionary (Collins My First Dictionary) (English and Kannada Edition)Harpercollins Reference; Published: 2011-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.93
Collins Spanish Essential Dictionary & Grammar (Collins Essential) (Spanish and English Edition)Harpercollins Reference P/Back; Published: 2011-01-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.51
Collins Italian Dictionary and Grammar (Italian and English Edition)by Collins
Harpercollins Reference Hbacks; Published: 2010-03-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.77
Collins Very First Spanish Dictionary (Spanish and English Edition)Harpercollins Childrens H/B; Published: 2009-06-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Collins Gem German Grammar (Gem Dictionaries)by Ilse McLean, Lorna Sinclair
Collins; Published: 1985-04-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $98.98
Splendid Ideas for Spanish Teachers (Ideas - a Collins Educational photocopy master)by Susan Fletcher
Collins Educational; Published: 1994-10-12; Hardcover; Book
Pronto: Level 2by Sean Scullion, Keith Faulkner, Ron Wallace, Michael Buckby
Collins Educational; Published: 1999-09-20; Audio Cassette; Book
Pronto: Level 1by Ken Hall, Steve:FAulkner Haworth, Ron Wallace
Collins Educational; Published: 1998-08-27; Audio Cassette; Book
Vital 2 Hb (Bk. 2)by Kate Corney
Collins Educational; Published: 1996-04-15; Paperback; Book
Easy Spanish Storybook: Little Red Riding Hood (Book + Audio CD): La Caperucita (McGraw-Hill's Easy Spanish Storybook)by Ana Lomba
McGraw-Hill; Published: 2005-12-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.71
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Nicholasby René Goscinny
Phaidon Press; Published: 2011-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.93
Price in other shops:
L'étranger (Collection Folio, no. 2) (French Edition)by Albert Camus
Gallimard; Published: 1971-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.86
Je t'aimerai toujours (French Edition)by Robert N. Munsch
Firefly Books; Published: 1988-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.22
Price in other shops:
Les recres du Petit Nicolas (Folio Junior) (French Edition)by Sempe/Goscinny
Gallimard; Published: 2007-06-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.49
Les Oeufs Verts au Jambon: The French Edition of Green Eggs and Hamby Dr. Seuss
Books; Ulysses Press; Published: 2009-03-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.58
Price in other shops:
Le Petit Nicolas a des ennuis (Folio Junior) (French Edition)by Sempe/Goscinny
Gallimard; Published: 2007-06-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.01
Madeleine (French Edition)by Ludwig Bemelmans
Books; Editions De L'ecole; Published: 2000-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.94
Price in other shops:
Le Petit Prince (French Language Edition)by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Harcourt; Harcourt, Inc.; Published: 2001-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.47
Price in other shops:
Les Vacances Du Petit Nicolas (Folio Junior) (French Edition)by Goscinny Sempe
Gallimard; Published: 2007-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.20
Le Petit Nicolas Et Les Copains (Folio Junior) (French Edition)by Goscinny Sempe; J. Sempe
Gallimard; Published: 2007-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00