Petit déjeuner à Paris: A Story in Easy French with Translation, Vol. 1

by France Dubin, Kris Avilla (Illustrator)

Jacqueline, an American divorcée, is going to Paris for the first time in her life. In this magical city, she will discover many surprises, including about herself.With this fun novel, written in easy French, we visit the city of lights with Jacqueline. It's a fantastic way to learn new vocabulary and to travel to Paris!

Reading a book in French can be difficult, even for advanced learners. French novels are usually full of idiomatic expressions. They use complicated tenses, complex sentence structures, and often slang. This book, written in easy French, is recommended for French learners with a basic understanding of French at a pre-intermediate level and above.

The book is divided into two sections:


Section 1 has the story written completely in French and includes vocabulary and grammar exercises.
Section 2 contains the complete translation in English and answers to all the exercises so that readers can check their comprehension.

Genres: France, Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2020

About the author

If you want to improve your French, my books are for you.
I write fun books in easy French for adults.

Reviews

[Madison Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing book for people who are learning French. I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible this book was for people at my level of French. I recommend reading this via Kindle because I was able to tap any words that I didn't know and automatically translate them. I will definitely be reading the next books in this series. Not only did this book my confidence in my reading ability but I also improved my vocab greatly.

The story was very interesting and I found myself truly invested in the characters. It was like I forgot that I was reading in another language. I am so happy, I can now say that I've read an entire book in French!

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just the right reading level for the early intermediate level that my French has regressed to. The storyline is negligible, but it was easy to read and some of the exercises at the end of each chapter were helpful or amusing. I would read more of these for the practice.

[Inna Dietrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I am currently learning French and I would rate myself between a B1-2 level. This book was perfect for my reading skills . It had some challenging vocabulary but I was able to read the book while only looking up a few words per page.
I really enjoyed the story. It was very engaging and the characters were interesting. I definitely recommend this book for people learning French.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contrary to what Goodreads says, this book is available in audio, on audible.com and that is the edition I bought. Here are the details:
Petit déjeuner à Paris [Breakfast in Paris]
A Story in Easy French with Translation, Vol. 1: Belles histoires à Paris [A Story in Easy French with Translation, Vol. 1: Beautiful Stories in Paris]
By: France Dubin
Narrated by: France Dubin
Series: Belles histoires à Paris, Book 1
Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 09-19-20
Language: French
Publisher: Independently Published

French audiobooks can be way too fast for non-French speakers. I usually listen on around 80% speed in the hope of catching every 2nd word or so. This book is written and read for non-French speakers, with simple sentence constructions. Also she reads slowly and clearly, so it's a great way to build confidence before venturing onto harder material.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

French Learning

When studying languages, I find that if I read or listen to French, it helps me understand the material. I came across this book and decided that it could help me with that. I liked that it has exercises at the end of each chapter and it had an English translation as well. It helped my understanding even though I didn’t always understand what some of the terms meant and I enjoyed reading it too.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book! It had our French class laughing and learning.

[Pam Patch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was really helpful for learning but also well written and a refreshing story in any language focused on the adventures of a middle aged woman. The author has a sense of humor. I learned vocabulary, and also gained confidence that you really can tell a nuanced, funny story with limited skills and vocabulary. I found the exercises at the ends of the chapters useful. I didn’t really use the English translation at the back. I found it more practical to look up English translations of individual words as needed, but maybe someone who is more of a beginner (instead of an advanced beginner or intermediate) would find it helpful to read a translation of the entire chapter.

[Leah Agirlandaboy]

I’ve been reviving my college French via Duolingo for a few years, and I think I’ve finally turned the corner from translating each individual word to being able to just read with some fluency. Yay me! This book was at just the right level—lots of practice with sentence structures and vocabulary I already know, plus a smattering of new things to figure out—and I LOVE reading foreign-to-me languages on Kindle because it makes looking things up so easy. I’ll be getting more of this author’s books.

[Sahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

ç'est une livre très facile pour les élèves de le français. l'histoire était très interessante et parfois drôle - ça ressemble plutôt à une histoire de Wattpad pour moi. malgré l'utilisation de langage très simple, j'ai appris pleins de vocabulaire sur la norriture/la mode/mots quotidienne. à mon avis si t'as un niveau A2 tu peut le comprendre, et surtout il peux facilement devenir ta premiere livre en français. merci à france dubin!

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather fun. I was a little bit pleased to find that it was not much of a challenge for me, but that is of course not a criticism of the book. And all practice is good; I read it aloud to myself, which I think helps get those idiomatic turns of phrase stuck in and sounding right when one reaches for "le mot juste". (I started to say I read it aloud to my cat, but in truth he kept getting up and leaving; no respect for learning, that guy.)

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m definitely not a beginner in French yet I found this book to be very enjoyable. I loved the activities at the end of each chapter and can honestly say that this was my first time to complete a math “word problem” in French. I ordered volume 2 immediately after finishing and can’t wait for it to arrive.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very simple, slow French. As a B1-B2 it felt too simple for me. It was short so a good review of basics, but not much of a challenge. I did appreciate the deliberate inclusion of certain grammar points that can be harder to learn. This would probably be a great listen for an A2.

[Carole Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first France Dubin book I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is engaging and I found the level was suitable for me, only having to look up a few words or phrases. French novels are far too hard, so this was just right and is aimed at adult readers learning French. I'm looking forward to reading some of her other books.

[Lua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can speak French pretty well, but I don't usually read books in French. I'm trying to do it more, though, and this was a very good series to start with - as it was about the right level of French, and relatively short, and it held my interest enough so that I kept at it.

[Emelyh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with a student over the course of quite a while lol but it was cute, it was the perfect mixture of “I can understand this” with a little bit of a challenge for her. I was so into the story lol I ate it up.

[Suzannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy french and fun story

A perfect book for beginners ready to take the next step. Not only was I improving my french but also where to go in Paris. Loved it.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’était vraiment romantique. Bravo!

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book I’ve read so far for French learners. The story was good. The vocabulary and grammar were clear, great for A/B1.

[Gib · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy French. Good for keeping words in your head.

[Tori Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun way to practice reading in French.

[Karen McCamant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable way to learn French!

[Bibiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun