Customer Reviews

Les Vacances du Petit Nicolas (French Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is by far the best book in the "Le Petit Nicolas" series. It humorously captures all of the little (and big) things that make travelling with children such a tiring and hilarious adventure. The funniest chapter is called "La Plage, c'est chouette" and I have never laughed so hard as when I read the chapter. The vocab wasn't too tricky and I would recommend this book to anyone learning French or anyone who knows French. C'est tres interessant, et moi, je l'aime. Et je pense que vous allez aimer "Les vacances du Petit Nicolas"! Achetez-le aujourd'hui! Buy it today!

This is a wonderful collection of humorous stories about Nicolas and his friends while he is on vacation. Set at a hotel and then a summer camp, Sempe and Goscinny managed to continue the success of the other Petit Nicolas series. The French isn't very complex, so this is a good book to read while you are learning.

If you know some French, even just a little bit, then you should not miss this book! The stories are from the perspective of a mischievious young French boy, and his observations and ideas will make you roll with laughter. The stories themselves are excellent, but in my opinion it is the way they are told that makes the book a real gem of comedy. The Petit Nicolas books are helpful for those learning or brushing up on French. I'd say that anyone who has completed a French class in high school or college should have enough knowledge of the language to appreciate this book. If you're one of those like me who has forgotten a lot of French, then I recommend reading it with a French dictionary handy...it is worth the effort! Recommended highly for those who like to laugh and have at least a basic reading knowledge of French.

I'm using this book to learn French. For that, it is very useful because the same vocabulary is used over and over, so if you didn't learn it on page 2, you'll probably see it on page 3, 11 or 20. This is a very good thing, for repetition is the only way to reinforce and solidify what you are learning. The first thing you'll learn about Petit Nicolas is that he cries a lot. Beaucoup. That was the first phrase I learned: mettre à pleurer. I'm an advanced beginner, so I never get more than half a page read before I have to look something up. So it's rather slow going - arduous, in fact. One of the things that you should know is that this book uses a lot of "la langue familière" - that is - a lot of figurative language that doesn't have an exact translation. If you have a good dictionary, many of these figurative expressions will be in there. But there are a few things that I have no idea what they mean, exactly. And don't be surprised if you see some grammatically incorrect things such as the "ne" being left out of sentences in the negative, which is very common in everyday spoken French.

The second thing that you learn is that the father is rather impatient and he shouts a lot. I'd swear the verb "crier" is the second most used verb in this book. Personally, I'm not finding the stories all that funny or interesting, but that could be partly because it takes me forever to get more than a couple of pages read. Or it could be because the parents need marriage counseling and a lesson in parenting!

So I give it 5 stars for usefulness and 3 stars for storyline.

I love these short tales of the comical trials and tribulations of Petit Nicolas and his parents. They are great for those learning French. I try to read one a day, just to keep my French up. They are not too difficult, but one can certainly pick up new vocabulary and phrasing.

Le petit Nicolas is the French version of Calvin and Hobbes, only not written in comic strip. It's a wonderful book every one in the French speaking world should read (at least one of the collection).

If you're very image-oriented, you won't like this. But to read it is absolute fun. I should have chosen something with less text and more images as a gift for my young nephews, but now their Dad is reading it for them and they're enjoying it very much. That Nicolas is something!

My French teacher gave me one of the "Petit Nicholas" then I'm so hooked to it. "The GREATEST book ever!" is all I can describe. You'll find Goscinny + Sempe are made for each other and createsd such a GREAT & SUCESSFUL Nicolas series. Just so so so so so...... much fun reading it! Smiles from bottom of heart!

This is the second Petit Nicolas book I've read. I love him. I think the book is at a 5th or 6th grade level in French. I love them because I don't need a dictionary to read it and the stories are cute and entertaining. Also, I've memorized this statement, "Je me suis mis a pleurer...", because if he's disappointed, he always begins crying! No wonder his mom and dad sent him to summer camp this summer.