TOP 10 FRENCH BOOKS FOR 10 YEAR OLDS

It is no secret that reading books in a different language is a great way to immerse yourself in a different culture. 

Ten-year-olds are just beginning to affirm their personality and their tastes. It is also the perfect age to spark their interest in reading. So why not encourage them to start reading in French? 

Not sure which book to choose? Here is our selection of ten French books to offer a 10-year-old! 

 1. Le Petit Prince

The Little Prince

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Le Petit Prince, a magical classic of French literature, turns 75 years old this year! To celebrate the event, the publisher Gallimard has created a special collector edition box that contains the original edition with the author’s colorful artwork and an exclusive figurine.

The beauty of Le Petit Prince is that it can be read on several levels, depending on the age at which you immerse yourself into this masterpiece. 

Le Petit Prince

Appearing as a simple children’s tale at first, it also reveals itself to be a deeply philosophical tale about humanity, love and friendship. 

A poetic story with a profound message, Le Petit Prince will delight the curious minds of the 10-year-olds in your life.

2. Corba

Tome 1 : L’île du mage, Tome 2 : Le seigneur de la côte
Volume 1: The Magician’s Island, Volume 2: The Lord of the coast

by Rémi Faure

Corba is a new epic saga by Rémi Faure that portrays the adventures of a group of children who find themselves stranded on a small paradise island, right in the middle of the Corba sea. Their friend Gaspard has disappeared, and the children set out on an adventure to find him. Along the way, they will face numerous challenges, confront a mysterious almighty magician and forge beautiful friendships.

Corba

Will they succeed in their mission? And will they manage to save the Corba sea threatened by pollution? 

A breathtaking, captivating and inspiring page-turner filled with beautiful underlying messages (the need to protect nature, the acceptance of others, the power of friendship), Corba will transport children into a fantasy world rich in adventures.

3. Sur les traces d’Arsène Lupin, 40 énigmes à résoudre

On the footsteps of Arsène Lupin, 40 riddles to solve

by Virgile Turier

If you had never heard of Arsène Lupin before, you probably now know a lot more about the famous gentleman burglar thanks to the recently released Netflix series, Lupin.

Inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s emblematic character, this book invites their young readers to go on a treasure hunt in the heart of Paris.

Arsène Lupin left behind him a mysterious notebook containing notes, newspaper clippings, secret maps and other interesting clues.

A total of 40 riddles that, once solved, will lead to Lupin’s secret hideout and a fabulous treasure! 

An engaging experience filled with surprises, Sur les traces d’Arsène Lupin is a fun way to follow the footsteps of the endearing gentleman thief.

4. Mortelle Adèle

by Mr Tan

Mortelle Adèle is not a little girl like the others. She is mean to her classmates, likes to torture her cat, drives her parents crazy and annoys her imaginary friend Magnus the ghost. She spends her days getting into trouble at school or at home and loves nothing more than to disobey adults.

 

Is Adèle devilish? Of course not!
She’s just a smart little girl, full of life, spontaneity, authenticity, wit, and imagination.

 

A free-spirited and unconventional heroine, Adele shows children that they can be themselves outside the norm and teaches them to love themselves as they are.

5. Les mots ont des oreilles

Words have ears

by Daniel Pennac

Did you know that, in French, you can jeter un oeil (“throw an eye”, i.e take a peek)? How about avoir un poil dans la main (“have a strand of hair in the hand” i.e be lazy) or casser les pieds à quelqu’un (break someone’s feet i.e annoy the heck out of them)?

Les Mots Ont des Oreilles, explores the different French idiomatic expressions related to the body. 

The title itself (Words have Ears) is a play on words, the proper idiom being les murs ont des oreilles (“walls have ears” suggesting someone is listening to your conversation without you knowing). 

A former French literature professor, acclaimed author Daniel Pennac has a deep knowledge of the subtleties of the French language.. His book is sure to make young readers laugh their hearts out while increasing their proficiency in French.

6. Les larmes d’Eugénie

Eugenie’s tears

by Mélanie Laurent

Igor is a fisherman who never catches anything. Eugenie is a depressed mermaid whose tears turn into diamonds. One night, a violent storm throws Igor into the ice-cold water. Eugenie comes to his rescue, while Igor incessantly casts his net into the water, not realizing that the fishes he catches are Eugenie’s friends.

 

French actress and filmmaker Mélanie Laurent is well known for her positive approach on how to tackle environmental challenges since her documentary, Tomorrow, in 2017.

With this poetical ecological tale, she aims at educating children about overfishing and the importance of preserving our marine ecosystems.

7. Le Tour du Monde en 80 jours

Around the world in 80 days

by Jules Vernes

Phileas Fogg is an eccentric gentleman living a tranquil life in London in the Victorian era. One day, he reads in the Daily Telegraph that a new railroad in India has just made it possible to travel around the world in 80 days.

Excited by the news, he makes a £20,000 bet (half his fortune) with the members of his gentleman’s club that he will, himself, make that journey in 80 days.  

That same evening, he packed his belongings and, with his French valet, Passepartout, he embarked on a fantastic journey.

Le Tour du Monde en 80 jours was written in the 1800s, when fast and reliable global travel was still science fiction and the idea of traveling the world in 80 days seemed a totally impossible feat. A classic adventure novel that impressively captures the spirit of adventure that prevailed at the turn of the century.

8. Les exoterriens

The exoterrestrials

by Pascale Chadenat

Joseph is in boarding school when he gets a new roommate, Adrien. The two boys couldn’t be more different – Joseph is a serious student, Adrien hates school – and yet they hit it off instantly. Joseph is fascinated; he has never met anyone as interesting as Adrien before.

Adrien loves to talk about his passion for space and astronomy, he owns a telescope and knows how to map the night sky. 

But most of all, he has the ability to communicate with the exoterrestrials who will soon come to get him in their interstellar ship.

A beautiful story about friendship and the quest for the unknown that will ignite the imagination of children about the galaxy and the mysteries of the universe.

9. Verte

 by Marie Desplechin

How would you feel if your daughter showed no aptitude at casting spells if you were a witch?

That is the situation Ursule finds herself in with her daughter Verte.

 Ursule is worried and also slightly annoyed. While she comes from a long lineage of witches, her daughter, Verte, does not seem to have the slightest interest in mastering witchcraft.

What does Verte want? A regular life, meeting a nice guy and getting married. But that’s certainly not what Ursule wants for her daughter, who desperately turned to Anastabotte, Verte’s grandmother, to teach her how to witchcraft one day per week.
The results will soon exceed Ursule’s expectations.

An engaging story about one’s search for identity and mother-daughter relationships, Verte is also written as a choral novel that shows us the different perspectives of four key characters (Verte, Ursule, Anastabotte and Verte’s first love, Soufi).

10. La rivière à l’envers

The upside-down river

by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

Who is the mysterious girl who asked Tomek, the village shopkeeper, if he sold water from the Qjar River? And where did she go when he said he didn’t have any?

Tomek learns that this river flows backwards and forwards and that it has extraordinary properties: whoever drinks it does not die. Intrigued and determined to find this mysterious river and the girl he instantly fell in love with, he embarks on an incredible adventure.

A powerful fantasy story, La rivière à l’envers, invites the reader to be part of Tomek’s amazing journey through a fantastic universe.