French Readers and French Books List in Order of Difficulty

“Short Stories in French for Beginners (Teach Yourself Short Stories)” by Olly Richards & Richard Simcott, Teach Yourself

“French: Short Stories for Beginners” by Frederic Bibard, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“Easy French Reader” by R. de Roussy de Sales, McGraw-Hill Education

Easy French Reader by R. de Roussy de Sales is an very plain and a first French reader for beginners. This book consists of three parts ordinary conversations, French concise history and French short stories. You can learn effectively and enjoyably French by reading aloud these texts again and again. This book doesn’t contain English translations (Important words and expression of French translation are wrote.) and comments of grammar. Nevertheless, you can learn French by heart to read sentences while referring to your dictionary. And you can download MP3 files of first and third parts (120 minutes). That are very useful to confirm pronunciations and to memorize texts. I recommend this excellent reader to every French beginners.

“French Short Stories for Beginners” by Lingo Mastery, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“Le Pendentif, Short Stories in Easy French” by Sylvie Lainé, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“French: Short Stories for Intermediate Level” by Frederic Bibard & Manuela Miranda, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“Histoires à lire le soir” by Marc Thil, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“Intermediate French Short Stories” by Lingo Mastery, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“C’est la vie!, A French Reader” by Evelyne Amon, McGraw-Hill Education

« Le petit prince (Folio Junior) » de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Editions Larousse

The most efficientive learning foreign languages I think, is reading in practice. I think French leaners should read book by French from children’s stories while referring to your French dictionary or the English edition, rather than to keep ‘studying French’ endlessly. Reading books by French makes you memorize and learn words, phrases and grammar in contexts and contents.

Le petit prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the most famous French children’s story has a deeper insight than other average children’s books, also be suitable for adults. And another good point is there’re the audiobook and the English edition of this book. Reading the book with audiobook, hearing the audiobook makes you learn correct pronunciation of French and grasp the story profoundly. A only difficult point of this book is past sense described by the simple past tense…

This story is a beautiful, cherish and precious but painful story from the viewpoint of a child. It was described by the sensibility of a child, but therefore the little prince’s words resonate your heart.

« Petite Histoire de France, De Vercingétorix à nos jours » de Jacques Bainville

Petite Histoire de France is a highly evaluated french history book for children written by french. Also, there is audiobook edition, so you can use them as a french reader and a listening learning material.

“Short Stories in French: New Penguin Parallel Text” by Richard Coward, Penguin Books

« Le petit Nicolas » de Jean-Jacques Sempé & René Goscinny, Editions Flammarion

I recommend this children’s story to French beginners by the same reason above. There’re the audiobook and the English edition of this book which useful for beginners. There’s also the movie. This book is consists of 19 short stories and a good read for French beginners. You can increase your vocabulary and ability to read French. Also you can learn the real ordinary colloquial French expressions.

Le petit Nicolas by Jean-Jacques Sempé & René Goscinny is the stories of ordinary life of French schoolboys. They are funny and charmed but sometimes bitter. Experiences of boyhood are common to the all over the world!!! You’ll remember your sweet memories of boyhood! My favourite episode is the last episode, ‘Je quitte la maison’ which describes a common boy’s dream and ambition you also might have.

And also I recommend following series of Le Petit Nicolas, especially Les vacances du Petit Nicolas.

« La grande histoire du monde » de François Raynaert, Livre de Poche

La grande histoire du monde is a present highly reputed world history book in France. It describes the entire world history includes culture and thoughts, Asia, Africa and America concisely and neither too much nor too little. Also the audiobook version is easy to listen and useful for French learning.

« Toute l’histoire du monde: de la préhistoire à nos jours » de Jean-Claude Barreau & Guillaume Bigot, Le Livre de Poche

My recommended way to learn and grasp foreign languages is reading world history and European history books. The descriptions on history books are plain, essential and easy to understand. You should have the knowledge of history learned by schools and heard by any books or TV programs. So you would read history books in foreign languages easily. In a history book, you can partially grasp and understand descriptions in a paragraph or a chapter, rather than a novel or a philosophy book. Besides connecting knowledges among some languages are exciting and enjoyable. And… history seems to be the root and essence of story. In French, the word ’histoire’ has the means of both ’story’ and ‘history’.

Toute l’histoire du monde: de la préhistoire à nos jours by Jean-Claude Barreau and Guillaume Bigot is the plain, interesting and instructive world history book. The title is ’whole world history’, in fact this book is chronological digests of major events in world history. So you can read easily and understand.

A flaw of this book is that is described by a francocentric view. Descriptions of some incidents and great persons of French is very long! For example, Charles le Grand, Jeanne D’arc, Louis ⅩⅣ, the French Revolution, Napoleon and the French Empire, and Charles de Gaul in the Second World War. Undoubtedly France has played a principal role in the world history… Despite there are any disappointing points, this book is a great read for French learners.

“First French Reader: A Beginner’s Dual-Language Book” by Stanley Appelbaum, Dover Publications

« Profession romancier » de Haruki Murakami, Éditions Belfond

« L’Histoire du monde pour Les Nuls » de Philippe Moreau Defarges, First Editions

L’Histoire du mode pour les nuls by Philippe Moreau Defarges is a French world history book, easy but affluent in information including trivia. ’Pour les nuls’ series is the French version of ‘For Dummies’ series. But this about 500 pages book is not only a beginners guide, but also a great work to grasp the general picture of whole world history. Also space between the lines of this book is wide as for French book. So I recommend this book as a reader to French beginners and intermediates.

« Discours de la méthode » by René Descartes, Editions Flammarion

Discours de la méthode by René Descartes is a great introduction to philosophy by the greatest philosopher, a masterpiece and the milestone of the modern philosophy and science. It’s also a starting point and milestone of modern French language like Martin Luther’s Bible. There’re some important notions and topics, common sense (part 1), the principal rules of the scientific method (part 2), the rules of moral (part 3), the method of doubt, the proof of God and the soul, ‘Cogito ergo sum.’ (I think, therefore I am.) and the Cartesian dualism (part 4).

To read book is useful and valuable for all people especially students, including considering and criticizing the Descartes’ thinkings. And you can learn and memorize important terms of philosophy, religion and science. And this book is the Descartes’ autobiography of his intellectual career like an adventure. So you read this book enjoyably.

The description of this book is not particularly the way of thinking and the style of writing of French language. The paragraphs and sentences are long as for French. I think the style of thinking of this book is from Latin language. Despite this book is very worth for the people of today and interesting, so I recommend this book to all French advanced learners. Also there’re audiobook and the English edition.

« Pensées » de Blaise Pascal

« Essais » de Michel de Montaigne, Larousse Editions

« Mythologies » de Roland Barthes, Édition du Seuil

Roland Barthes was a French critic, semiologist or ‘écrivain’ (writer). His one of the representative works is Mythologies. The former part of the book is a collection of essays taken from a magazine, in which the essays appeared serially. The essays introduce and examine modern cultural myths in France and modern societies. Barthes picked up various things from French daily things (wine, beef steak, soap and detergent), products (Citroën, toys and plastic), music, social effects of photography, sports (wrestling and Le tour de France), political symbolism to ways of criticism (Critique muette et aveugle and La critique Ni-Ni). You will experience the vivid and keen écriture and analysis by Barthes. Each essays are very short (2 to 5 pages, except Le monde où l’on catche and Le Tour de France comme épopée).

The later part Le myths, aujourd’hui is a brilliant essay of general social mythology analysis applying Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory of semiology. The good point of this essay is a criticism to signs and the system of daily life, which resulted in a criticism or mention to the latent cultural ’politics’ in/by a entire social system.

I recommend this book to French advanced learners. Because it’s exciting and you can feel way of thinking by French language (sticky argument and keen logic, neither syllogism or paragraph writing) by it. And there’re the audiobook and the English edition.