Picture Books for Art & Book Lovers

These are some of our favourite picture books because they are either beautiful and/or unique. I only realised as I was putting this post together that three of these books have some connection with France.

Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson - Illustrated by Christine Davenier; edited by Susan Snively

Emily Dickinson is a poet my children didn't take to very much. Moozle listened in when I was reading the poet's work aloud a few years ago to her older (less than impressed) brothers and decided she didn't like her either. However, I found this delightful book of Dickinson's poems illustrated by Christine Davenier, who was born in France and lives in Paris. The watercolour illustrations in the book were the drawcard for my artistically minded daughter. So I read a poem, she does some art appreciation, we decide which pictures we each like best and then she does some watercolour of her own using the paintings in the book as a guide. The illustrations have made a difference in her attitude to the poems of Emily Dickinson and helped Moozle to appreciate her work.

Paris, Up, Up and Away by Helene Druvert

This is a beautifully designed, whimsical picture book set in Paris with the Eiffel Tower as the main character. It's marketed as a children's book but the laser paper cuttings it contains are delicate and lace-like and would be appreciated by anyone with an eye for beauty and an interest in art and paper cutting. 'Scherenschnitte' is a term I was familiar with, which is the German form of paper cutting, and apparently Découper is the French form. This book takes the art form to a new level with the precision that the laser cutting manages to perform.

The Eiffel Tower is bored today
Wouldn’t it be nice to fly away?
Paris is full of things to do –
The Tower would like to see them too
The Tower takes off for the day
To watch the city work and play …

I bought this book when it first came out for my daughter who was 22 years old at the time and I don't have it here at present so I'm not able to post any pictures of the contents (but there are some here). It is the perfect gift for art lovers and francophiles. I must buy another copy for my youngest daughter who is using the Classical Academic Press French curriculum. (Free giveaway to enter here if you're interested) 

The author has another similar book: Mary Poppins, Up, Up and Away.

 


Vendela in Venice by Christina Björk; illustrated by Inga-Karin Eriksson

This is a short chapter, lavishly illustrated book that takes the reader on a journey through Venice. As Vendella's father said, "Every child should go to Venice." If you can't get there just yet, this book will give you a wonderful introduction to the culture and history of this fairy-tale city. For ages from around 8 years and up. The Classical Kids audio, Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery makes an ideal accompaniment to this book. (It's on YouTube)

Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson; illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt

Set in Paris, Marguerite's father works at illuminating manuscripts for the nobility of France.
My youngest daughter loves this book and we used it when we did Ambleside Online Year 1. Today she referred to this book when she was looking through 'A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' for nature notebooking inspiration. Marguerite Makes a Book is lovely inducement for budding artists.

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

What is the definition of a picture book? About 32 pages with illustrations directed primarily for children? Did you know that the 2008 Randolph Caldecott Medal, the highest honour an artist can achieve for children's book illustration, was given to the author of a 500 page novel set in Paris? So I'm taking the liberty of putting The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady in a post of picture books. There are about 176 pages (depending on which edition you get) of the most exquisite paintings from the hand of a woman who had a naturalist's eye for detail combined with an artist's sensitivity. Holden made her first entry in her diary in 1906 and continued to record the changing seasons, poetry, nature observations and her own thoughts over the whole year in this lovely book.
In 1976, Holden's great-niece approached a publishing house with the original diary that had been passed down to her and the result was the publication of a 're-originated,' full-colour fascimile edition in 1977. There have been numerous editions of this book and this is the hardback copy I have which was published in 2000.

Edith Holden described her English countryside but the beauty of this book is its inspirational value, and her observations of the natural world, even though half a world away, are relevant for aspiring  naturalists wherever they might be. When I spend some time with this work I can't help but feel motivated to imitate what she has done.

A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston

A Child of Books resulted when the children's author and illustrator, Oliver Jeffers, and Sam Winston, a typographical artist, combined their efforts. It's a unique, multi-layered book that uses excerpts from classical children's books such as Little Women and Treasure Island, within the illustrations and is done in such a way that anyone of any age  interested in books would appreciate poring over it. I bought it for my older daughter who collects quality picture books to use in her teaching.
There's an interview with both of the authors here.

Classical Academic Press - Review & Give Away! French for Children, Primer B

At the beginning of last year my nearly 11 year old daughter started using French for Children, Primer A (FFCA) published by Classical Academic Press after a number of years of informal French study. It proved to be timely for her to commence learning this language using a more formal approach and we were both very happy with the material. I wrote about our experience here.
 
French for Children Primer B (FFCB) was published late last year and Classical Academic Press kindly sent me a copy for review purposes. I really like this Curriculum and so my review is unabashedly positive, but it is my honest opinion.
My now just turned 12 year old daughter started using FFCB in December last year and it followed on seamlessly from their previous text. It is recommended for Grades 5 to 7 and follows the same style and format as FFCA with a couple of new additions.

Overview of FFCB

17 weekly chapters, including 3 review chapters and an end-of-book review
258 pages
6 DVDs
1 CD - contains chants, vocabulary, grammar, dialogues, Say it Aloud exercises and dictation exercises. (Also available as a downloadable audio file)
There are schedules for covering the curriculum in either half a year or a full academic year of 30 weeks.

New features include:

•    an alphabetical glossary or 'mini dictionary' of all vocabulary words from Primers A & B
•    Vocabulary also listed by chapter from which it first appeared in both Primers (12 pages)
•    Appendices condensed and organised into charts: e.g. prepositions, verbs & verb conjugations, past participles

Previous concepts learned throughout FFCA are referred to briefly before they are gone into more thoroughly e.g. FFCA covers the present tense and FFCB reviews this and then introduces the future tense in Chapter 9 and the past tense in Chapter 11.
FFCA teaches Irregular verbs, Part 1 and FFCB continues with part 2 & 3.

Some thoughts:

If you were coming from a different curriculum and were thinking of starting with FFCB instead of FFCA, your child should be familiar with the following concepts first:

Infinitives
Negatives
Informal, formal forms
Definite & indefinite articles
Preposition 'de'
Cognates
verb tenses (present)
Past participle - some knowledge required

The DVD's by Joshua Kraut are excellent and contain some built-in review of the content covered in FFCA but they mostly concentrate on new material.
Speaking of DVD's, some kids (notably mine) are put off by the tone, accent or attitude of some speakers ("Do we have to listen to him?") but Mr Kraut gets the thumbs up from my lot. He is easy to listen to, has a sense of humour without being too obvious about it, and is generally very pleasant.
Below is the complete video for Chapter 1:





As I mentioned in my review of FFCA, the only thing I'd add to this curriculum would be listening to French folksongs. I have a YouTube playlist of a variety of folksongs here that we've used previously and a newer playlist here of the songs we're doing this year.

Classical Academic Press is giving away two French for Children: Primer B bundles for USA residents. Enter via Rafflecopter at Expanding Wisdom and There's No place Like Home!



Giveaways end at midnight on February 14th and February 22nd. Winners will be contacted by email. Winners that do not respond by the deadline given in the winners’ email will be replaced by random drawing.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

An 11 year Old's Notebook Keeping

Moozle started Ambleside Online Year 6 about two months ago so I thought it would be a good opportunity to record some of what she does in the way of notebook keeping each week.
I'll start with her favourite:

Nature Notebook

This is something Moozle really enjoys doing and will often suggest it early in the week. Two weeks ago we started studying earthworms and built a little worm farm to observe them:

A clear jar (glass or plastic)
3 layers - torn newspaper on the bottom, then a layer of dirt and another layer of sand
We used an upturned pot plant base as a loose lid

Keep it moist but don't overwater like we did and nearly drowned them all
Food - teabags, lettuce leaves, crushed egg shells
Cover the container with something dark - we used a black cloth bag

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock has some ideas on pages 422-425. She suggested:

For the study of the individual worm and its movements, each pupil should have a worm with some earth upon his desk.

 Nature Studies in Australia by William Gillies & Robert Hall has a good chapter also:

Copywork

I don't think Charlotte Mason actually used the term 'copywork' (I could be mistaken, but I haven't found it if she did) but she did use the word, 'transcription,' and that it should be slow and beautiful work...

Transcription should be an introduction to spelling. Children should be encouraged to look at the word, see a picture of it with their eyes shut, and then write from memory.

Moozle has been doing this for a number of years now and I have seen a huge improvement in her spelling, especially with the addition of dictation around the time she turned ten. But I still have to watch that her writing doesn't get sloppy. She loves using coloured pens but her writing is often neater when she uses pencil. I usually let her choose her own passages now for copying or give her some choice. Shakespeare, poetry, literature, and Bible verses are some examples of what we've used.

Children should Transcribe favourite Passages.––A certain sense of possession and delight may be added to this exercise if children are allowed to choose for transcription their favourite verse in one poem and another...

A sense of beauty in their writing and in the lines they copy should carry them over this stage of their work with pleasure.

Home Education by Charlotte Mason  

French

I found this book  not long ago and we've been using it for French copywork (which we started doing about a year and a half ago).

Latin

This only gets done once a week at present:

Timeline

Moozle's Book of the Centuries and timeline is basic and no frills, as you can see below, but it works for her. We use a cheap composition book but I'd like to find a book with a combination of blank and lined pages with better quality paper as pen bleeds through the pages on this one. The entries are updated once a week, which she generally does without prompting now. She has a separate notebook for maps and written narrations on history.

I was quite surprised at how simple the idea of a Book of Centuries originally was. There's a picture here on Page 7 that shows an example. (It's slow to upload)

Some examples of my older children's history timelines and notebooks are here.

Linking up with Celeste at Keeping Company and with Kris at Weekly Wrap-up

Our French Folksongs for 2016

We've been listening to some traditional music from Quebec known as 'Quebecois music.' Most of the songs below are traditional French songs performed by the group Le Vent du Nord.

We enjoy the mix of instruments the group uses. I'd never seen a hurdy gurdy played before! Some of their songs remind me of fairy tales and they don't always make sense when translated into English - you can read a bit about this on the link above. They are great listening for any age but especially for older kids who are put off by the cartoonish versions of French songs.
Hope you enjoy these as much as we have!


Noces Tragique (Tragic Wedding) features the Jew's Harp which gives the song a very distinctive sound, as well as some Quebec foot percussion/tapping. One of my girls is a violinist & she can't understand how someone can play, sing & foot tap at the same time.





Noces Tragique

Ce sont deux jeunes gens qu’on fait alliance ensemble,
À la première nuitée ils ont couché ensemble
Oh ! mon époux bien vite levez-vous
Je crains de ne pas finir mes jours

Oh non, nenni la belle, y’en aura des remèdes
Je ferai venir le plus grand médecin
Qu’il soit dans l’Europe ou dedans le Rhin

S’il tardait à venir, j’irai à sa rencontre
Je lui dirai médecin hâtez-vous
Je crains que ma mie ne finisse ses jours

Quand il fut arrivé la belle n’était point morte
Elle tira sa main en dehors du lit
En disant adieu mon mari

Si Dieu l’avait voulu aurions vécu ensemble
Vécu ensemble d’une douce amitié
Mais hélas la mort va nous séparer

Que bénie soit la mort quand Dieu nous la présente
Y paraît qu’un jour dans son Paradis
Nous y serons enfin réunis

Oh mère apportez-moi mes gilets de soie verte
Faut que j’en découse, découse le velours
Car ma mie a fini ses jours





Le Vieux Cheval (The Old Horse)

Mon cher voisin qui m'envoyait chercher
Un vieux cheval blanc qui est à l'extrémité

Prends ton verre et moi la bouteille
Buvons un petit coup, affilons nos couteaux
Dépêchons-nous, d'aller y lever la peau

Mon cher voisin tu t'es laissé aller
Combien d'hivers t'as été mal hiverné

Tu m'entendras plus sacrer après toi
Personne n'aura aucun pouvoir sur toi

Tu traîneras plus ton maître en hiver
Tous ces capucins et toutes ces valises.



No actual words in this next song (except for what sounds sort of like dumdadedeedlydum) but it is fun:




And now for something completely different...Les Champs-Elysees is a well-known French love song. An English translation is here.





Update:




C'est L'aviron goes all the way back to 15th Century France. An English translation of the song  is here.


Some other posts relating to learning French:

 French Lessons -  what we used to get started; free resources & folksongs

The Avion my Uncle Flew

Classical Academic Press - Review & Give Away! French for Children

 Paris, 2015

Moozle, my ten year old, has been learning French informally for a few years, mostly by listening to French folksongs and copying French phrases into her notebook. This has worked quite well up until recently. Her pronunciation sounds natural, and she speaks the French she knows with confidence, but I knew that it was time she started a more formal programme. This was easier said than done.
We've had a chequered history in the foreign language department in our home, but it wasn't through lack of resources. I don't like to think about how much money has gone into buying curricula that sounded so promising but in reality just didn't work for us. Some of these purchases were not thorough enough, others were better suited to adults or older independent students, and some were just plain old boring.

I was reluctant to make any more expenditures after being disappointed with what I'd already purchased, but then I saw that Classical Academic Press (CAP) was about to publish French for Children. I'd been receiving their monthly eNewsletter, Insights, for about a year and liked what I'd read:

  Our motto “Classical Subjects Creatively Taught,” describes the essence of all that we publish. We seek to produce classical curricula and media with a clear design and structure, incremental and systematic instruction, all with a touch of delight, creativity, and flair.

This is what I was after for my daughter...structure, but with delight, creativity & flair.
Classical Academic Press kindly gave me a free copy of this curriculum for review purposes, and here are my considered thoughts after putting it to use in our home school.

A General Overview:

French for Children, Primer A is the first text in a three year series for elementary students. It is recommended for grade 4 and up and has a similar structure to CAP's Latin series for children.
There are 17 Chapters and a choice of weekly schedules to allow the course to be completed in either half a year or a full academic year of thirty weeks.
French for Children takes a creative immersion-type approach which uses dialogue, translation, chants, vocabulary, dictation, grammar, and quizzes.
It is well laid out, uncluttered, and the text is easy on the eyes.

What the French for Children programme includes:


French for Children: Primer A - Student text, 245 pages.

French for Children: Primer A - Answer Key

French for Children: Primer A - 7 DVD Set & Chant CD

What French for Children looks like in practice:

This will vary a little depending on whether you are covering the material over a half or full academic year. I recommend watching the first DVD to get an overview of the course before you start. It takes you through the structure of the lessons and explains the various components.
A 15 page section called the 'Pronunciation Wizard' is located at the beginning of the Student Text and as the student progresses through the course they are instructed to refer back to various sections to read explanations and listen to the relevant audio track.
This is how I've structured the chapters:

Listen to the Dialogue -  A story is woven together throughout the course & Moozle follows along while listening to the audio. This is partly in French, partly in English and introduces new vocabulary. She gets an idea of  what the new words mean from the context and tells me what she thinks is happening. The dialogue translation is in the back of the Student Text.

Chant -  phrases & sets of words to help with pronunciation. 'Je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle.' These are on the CD and Moozle repeats them aloud after listening.

Vocabulary - new words (about ten per chapter). These are meant to be memorized & students may make their own flashcards for this purpose. I've been getting Moozle to write them down in her French notebook.

Video - these are about 45min to an hour long each, so there is a lot of information. Sometimes I divide them over two days or go over parts if I think it necessary. The DVD's are very helpful for a parent who doesn't have a knowledge of French, or needs to brush up on what they did years ago, and are an integral part of the course.

Grammar - this course emphasizes grammar but also gives grammatical instruction in an incremental way so it's suitable for a child who may not have done much grammar previously, but is ready for the concepts e.g. at a grade 4 level.

Worksheets & Quizzes - these include translation exercises, completing charts, verb forms, grammar exercises etc.

La dictée - dictation! In France, and several other countries (Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, and Canada, for example), the dictations are structured contests, similar to spelling bees. This is something I hadn't attempted with Moozle because my French pronunciation wasn't to be trusted, but the dictation selections are on the CD and I just have to press a button. It's the same as standard dictation except, of course, the sentences are in French: 'Elle travaille beaucoup.'

Some thoughts:


I think this is a very thorough curriculum; well structured and methodical, while at the same time  including enough variety to keep it engaging and interesting.

Personally, I think it is in keeping with the Charlotte Mason approach if it is used, as CAP recommends, for grade 4 and up, as this is generally when the study of grammar is introduced in a CM education.

The grammar content in Primer A starts with subjects and verbs and continues to add in other concepts such as infinitives, verb conjugation, tense and noun gender.
After a few years of getting ears and tongue accustomed to French words mostly through the medium of folksongs, French for Children is an ideal next step for us.
I think it would also be a good starting point for a student who hasn't had any prior experience with the French language because of its multifaceted approach.
The only thing I'd add is listening to French folksongs on a regular basis. We are continuing to do this and I've included a playlist of some that we have used below .


Classical Academic Press has a very generous 64 page pdf of the French for Children: Primer A  Student Text that you may download and try out. There is also a free audio MP3 sample here and the  video below is the first chapter of the course (about 45 mins long).





Classical Academic Press are giving away two French for Children: Primer A bundles for USA residents. To enter head across to Brandy @ Afterthoughts and Amy @ Living & Learning and enter the draw.

A 20% discount off of all CAP French products with the discount code FFC2016 is also available through to January 31st for anyone to use. It is also valid on the already discounted French for Children full-program (the bundle). If a person in the USA orders from CAP with the 20% off and then wins the giveaway, they will be refunded.

The giveaway finishes at midnight on the 31st January and winners must respond to the notification email by the given deadline or another winner will be chosen instead.

Congratulations to the two winners: Laura L & Sharron C!

A playlist of a variety of French songs and folksongs that we've used at different times:

The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher - Newberry Honor Book 1946...how this book has been inspiring in the acquisition of the French language

The war in Europe had just ended and Johnny Littlehorn's father was in France recovering from injuries he received when a German shell exploded near him. Johnny's mother was French and had met her husband in America. After their marriage they had settled on a ranch in Wyoming and now Johnny's mother, with the help of their old foreman, did what she could in her husband's absence to keep the ranch going.

One day, Johnny's father unexpectedly returned and announced they were all going to France. Johnny's mother had a younger brother who still lived in France and he had introduced Mr Littlehorn to some important people in the French army. As a consequence Mr. Littlehorn was asked to remain in France after the war and carry out liason work.

Once the family were in France, it was arranged that Johnny would stay with his 'Oncle' Paul while his parents went to England for a couple of months. Thus began an adventure which took Johnny through the countryside of France and into the centre of a plot hatched by a Nazi spy.

On its own this story is a good little mystery with a mix of spying, adventure and humour. The author has painted a realistic picture of a young boy who had to overcome substantial inner and outer obstacles. His portrayal of the boy's behaviour and thought processes is believable, but in addition the book has a unique and clever feature which sets it apart from other books with a similar theme.

During the course of the book, Johnny, who had no knowledge of French at the beginning, learns to speak and understand the language by the time the book is finished.

Knowing how to say "it's" was helpful. With that "c'est" I could make sentences. I could say, "C'est mon pere;" "C'est min once;" or I could say, "Le jour est beau;" and, "Le Parc est Bleu;" or I could ask. Us elf silly questions like, "est mon once Le Parc?" And answer myself, "Non, Le Parc est Le Parc." Maybe it seems foolish, but I found it was fun.

I ended my letter to my mother with French words I knew, such as: "C'est bon here in your village de St. Chamant...Mon once est giving me lecons in French...Le jour est beau although it rains a lot...Ou are you now, in London?...Jean va to bed..." and things like that.

I gave this book to my 10 year old after I'd read it. She has been learning French mostly by immersion, and mostly through song. This year she started a French notebook and has been doing copy work for French also. She enjoyed the story but I didn't think it was much help in the French department until she showed me the story she was writing.

She'd been listening to G.A. Henty's tale, In the Reign of Terror, for about the fourth time. The main character in the story is a young lad who goes to live with a family in France, learns to speak French and is instrumental in saving members of the family when they are caught up in excesses of the French Revolution. I could see that it was from that book that she got the initial inspiration for her characters and storyline.
After she'd read The Avion My Uncle Flew, I noticed the dialogue in her story was imitating the style used in that book. She also started using our French/English dictionary to help with her vocabulary and began writing words out in a notebook, just like Johnny (Jean) had done.

Here is a section of Chapter Two of her story:

 

The last page of The Avion My Uncle Flew is written completely in French and is the letter Jean/Johnny writes to his mother. The book slowly adds French words throughout and these last pages come together quite naturally. Very cleverly done, I think.

French Lessons, Vocabulary & Folksongs - update

I'm updating this post to include a few more resources so all our French resources are on the same page and have included a mix of vocabulary, stories and folksongs.

"...the child's vocabulary should increase steadily, say, at the rate of half a dozen words a day. Think of fifteen hundred words in a year! The child who has that number of words, and knows how to apply them, can speak French. Of course, his teacher, will take care that, in giving words, she gives idioms also, and that as he learns new words, they are put into sentences and kept in use from day to day. A note-book in which she enters the child's new words and sentences will easily enable the teacher to do this."

Home Education by Charlotte Mason 


We've used this Skoldo book for a while, mostly for the songs which are included on a CD that comes with the book. There are other books in the series but I've been using lots of free resources and hopefully these will be enough until she is ready to start Living French:

Last year I started keeping a French notebook which has been very helpful. I was inspired by the quote above to make our French language learning more in keeping with the ideas Charlotte Mason had on foreign language acquisition. It had been going ok but nowhere near 1500 words a year! I wasn't keeping up with things and much of the vocabulary that was covered got forgotten. The notebook is to help me keep a record of what is covered and for the purpose of review.

This year Moozle started keeping her own French notebook. She writes phrases and sentences from what she's been learning in her copybook a few times a week. We've been going through a free online book, Petit a Petit by A. Herding, but I only just realised I hadn't included it here as we have it saved on an Ipad. The text starts off with phrases such as un chat & une pomme around page 20, which is where I started Moozle, & by page 24 includes more lengthy phrases eg. Le chat et la souris. English translation isn't included but the book has some illustrations. Between these illustrations and the use of an English/French dictionary, the book has been easy to use so far:

  









The Three Little Pigs - love this!




Conversation








Folksongs







Translation for Sur le pont d'Avignon here.


The Months of the Year

Goldilocks and Three Bears and other stories with audio & translations

French numbers and their pronunciation.

A French Primer

This is more advanced than the one I posted above.

English translation here.

French version of 'She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain.'
English translation here.




This is more difficult and we only started it today. The BookBox website has a variety of stories in different languages and they have the story below in English if you would like a translation:






Santiano

It is a fine three-master thin like a bird.
Heave-ho, Santiano !
Eighteen knots, four hundred barrels :
I am proud to be one of her seaman

Hold fast the helm and hold fast the wind.
Heave-ho, Santiano !
By God's will, always straight ahead,
We will sail until San Francisco

I'm going away for long months, leaving Margot.
Heave-ho, Santiano !
To think of it caused me sorrow
While crossing the fires of Saint-Malo

They say that over there money flows.
Heave-ho, Santiano !
You find gold down in the streams
I will bring back several ingots

One day, I'll return with my arms full of gifts.
Heave-ho, Santiano !
In the country, I'll visit Margot
At her finger, I will slip a ring

Hold fast the course and hold fast the waves
Heave-ho, Santiano !
On the sea arching it's back,
We will sail until San Francisco

It is a fine three-master thin like a bird.
Heave-ho, Santiano !
Eighteen knots, four hundred barrels :
I am proud to be one of her seaman

Taken from http://lyricstranslate.com/en/santiano-santiano.html#ixzz3g9A9fWll



The Avion my Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher has been a great incentive for my daughter with her French now she's a little older.