Looking for a short book written in relatively easy French? Interested in reading a new perspective on World War II? Cinq ans dans la vie d'une petite fille, 1940-1945 might be just what you need. Jeannine Pastor-Goulding was four and a half years old and living in Menton, in south-eastern France when the war began, but even at 70 she vividly remembers what it was like to be forced to move repeatedly, to be separated from family, to be hungry for weeks on end. It's a fascinating and uncommon look at European history.
Cinq ans dans la vie d'une petite fille is more than just a story, however - it was published as a pedagogical tool. French teacher Penny Sewell has complemented the story with a French-English glossary and a series of questions to test readers' comprehension and to encourage further discussion.
The length of the story (29 pages), easy grammar (everything is written in the present tense and most sentences are short and simple), and the supplemental material make this a good choice for upper-beginning to intermediate French classes. However, it might have been more helpful to include the glossary alongside the text, as there is plenty of room on the approximately A4 / letter-sized pages.
Cinq ans dans la vie d'une petite fille is more than just a story, however - it was published as a pedagogical tool. French teacher Penny Sewell has complemented the story with a French-English glossary and a series of questions to test readers' comprehension and to encourage further discussion.
The length of the story (29 pages), easy grammar (everything is written in the present tense and most sentences are short and simple), and the supplemental material make this a good choice for upper-beginning to intermediate French classes. However, it might have been more helpful to include the glossary alongside the text, as there is plenty of room on the approximately A4 / letter-sized pages.
