With depths of wisdom and compelling journeys to magical lands, learn French with some of the best books to expand your brain.
Customize your very own library with French storybooks as we dig into the best resources to read, learn, and explore new places.
How do stories help you to learn a language?
Stories create a sense of connection among learners conveying complex ideas in graspable ways. It has the potential to leave a lasting impact on important concepts and valuable insights.
Stories help us to understand the purpose and utilization of the new words and expressions through interesting dialogues and conversations making it much easier to remember.
When we read a story, we read the rules and syntax in a more engaging and authentic way contrary to the dry recitation in textbooks.
Further, a good story enlightens us with cultural awareness and points of difference to promote better understanding towards people.
Online resources to read French storybooks
Reading bestows us with information we are unaware of and adds a new perspective to what we already know. Learning to read in another language decodes new words and syntax.
Students who make it a ritual to read gain language skills much faster than their counterparts. Before we get into the habit of reading, it’s really important to choose books that grab our interests.
In order to help you on that quest, we have listed some of our preferred resources to browse your favorite book from the lot.
1. Gallica
Gallica is an online digital library open to all with a wide range of books that are downloadable and free of cost. It provides access to rare and unusual books in both image and text formats that are impossible to find in regular book stores.
The resources are offered by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Bnf) and hence it is known to prioritize the French-speaking culture over other foreign languages.
This comprehensible library holds extensive historical collections, printed documents, fairy tales, comics, maps, classics, musical documents, educational and research books.
With Gallica, it is easy to get caught up in the endless array of genres that is enough to satisfy the young and old.
2. Bibliothèque Numérique Romande (BNR)
The BNR is an association managed by a group of volunteers who are passionate about French literature and culture. Their main goal is to promote the cultural life of neighboring French regions.
This site is more suitable for intermediates and advanced learners as it is filled with more than 1000 classic French novels written by renowned authors like Eugène Sue, André Gide, and more that are available for free download.
Further, you can become a member of this association to take part in debates and conversations among other avid readers and keep track of their latest activities.
3. Children’s books forever
Children’s books are the perfect companion to develop your reading skills. With colorful illustrations and pictures, these books help amateur learners to visualize the content on each page.
Children’s books forever is a website that features 13 French stories written and illustrated by Hans Wilhelm. These stories are mainly centered around animals with short passages and cool characters in an easily accessible pdf format.
4. Short stories by Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant is considered to be one of the best French writers. He is known for his book of short stories on various subjects that often depicts the life of the lower and middle classes in the 19th century.
The major recurring themes in his short stories are war, madness, prostitution, cultural misunderstanding between French and English, and life in the French provinces.
This site offers a collection of all his works for free in chronological order. It is well suited for adults at the intermediate level who wish to explore the full spectrum of French society.
5. Storyplay’r
Storyplay’r is a digital and audio library designed for kids with unlimited access to over 1500 stories. It is the best tool for beginners who are beginning to read in French. The audios for each story are recited by native storytellers.
Further, it also provides an option to record your voice and become the narrator of the story. So, it allows you to improve your reading, pronunciation, and listening skills.
This site offers gated content based on a subscription plan but you can enjoy the extracts of the story for free. You can also examine and experiment with their services and quality of books with their one-month free trial.
Discover the pleasure of reading in French
Reading books with the help of the above online resources teaches us the key literacy skills to communicate efficiently in French. It opens wider access to articles and studies on different topics to enlarge your French library.
Save your money, time, and effort with downloadable and portable storybooks that go beyond the core function of the product. Discover the pleasure of reading and learning French at your own pace with a book of your choice.
