Book Reviews
Book 1: Jo-Jo, Le Petit Caneton, Jo-Jo the Little Duckling
Living France Magazine, September 2006
"This is a good, old-fashioned storybook with a charming tale and beautiful illustrations. It tells the story of Jo-Jo, the little duckling who is found all alone and who tries to find his identity from his farmyard friends. His quests sees him turn to ask for help from his animal and human neighbours and introduces the young reader to a whole host of easily recognisable vocabulary.
The pictures are bright and act as a visual translation for young students. It has been designed for children at Key Stage 2 (Year 3) and covers much of the vocabulary recommended by the National Curriculum.
The story is all in the present tense and introduces simple numbers as well. Each page has a delightful picture with French text above and an English translation below. Wyatt advises parents of younger children to read the story in English first then gradually introduce French words. Older children can be encouraged to draw parallels between the French and English text and practice their pronunciation.
The government's National Languages Strategy recognises the importance of language learning for young children and has highlighted this age group as one to target. Wyatt's book is a fun resource to do just this. this book would be a child's favorite even just in English, with the added bonus of the bilingual text and the world of opportunities this offers, it becomes a winning bedtime read."
Chris Tutt (an experienced teacher of French)
"...A delightful book for children, with endless possibilities for parents and teachers to enjoy and exploit...the use of both French and English text, in the present tense, makes this book an unusual and welcome resource."
Headteacher Magazine, November 2006
"...This is a charming bi-lingual storybook written in French and English that aims to both amuse key stage 2 children and teach them much of the basic french vocabulary recommended by the National Curriculum.
It follows the adventures of lonely duckling Jo-Jo who has no mother, Jo-Jo is being looked after by Poulette the hen but he is not like her chicks and cannot run as fast as them.
He wants to learn how to swim and the story follows him as he searches the farm for someone to help. This is a fun way for children to begin learning a foreign language.