A FRENCH CHILDREN'S STORY

 If you or your family enjoyed reading my daughter's children's book, Le Lapin et la Lune, you will certainly like this story, Le Lapin à la recherche du Printemps. 

Thirty-one pages, distilling to a child's level character traits such as determination and initiative, demonstrate that encouragement and optimism can and do prevail. Fully illustrated with original aquarelles and available in either French or English on Amazon sites worldwide.

Click here to preview.

©2024 P. B. Lecron

 

ORCHID ENIGMA

Un mystère

How could a large orchid plant survive in a closed, all but abandoned house which had not been entered for years? That was the question we pondered as we looked with some elderly friends into the window 

of a house they had the duty of checking on. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room was a healthy orchid in a large cache-pot. The lady who had lived in the house had died several years before, and remarkably everything in the house had remained exactly in its place, untouched. 

Yet there was that orchid, alive and well. What was its magic? Then it occurred to me. The old house was in the Pas-de-Calais, a very rainy area and the large potted orchid must have been placed at some time in the past in a spot to catch the drip of a leaking roof.

Vocabulary

un cache-pot: a plant pot

une fuite: a leak

un toit qui fuit:  a leaking roof

un mystère: a mystery

Speaking of mysteries . . .

Marianne Lecron's latest children's story will

charm and intrigue French readers young and

old alike. In it, Papa Lapin follows a series of

curious tracks in a very heavy and mysterious 

snow that lead him to saving springtime! An 

adventure full of ups, downs and new animal

friends. For ages 4 to 99. Fullly illustrated 

with original aquarelle and ink drawings by 

yours truly.

Le Lapin à la recherche du Printemps is 

also available in English, The Rabbit in Search

of Spring. Both are sold worldwide on 

Amazon.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

LITTLE BALL OF FUR

The family's little darling

Petite Boule de Poils

An adorable Cavalier King Charles puppy swept us all off our feet!

Il nous a fait perdre la tête !

Expression

faire perdre sa tête: lose one's head, sweep one of one's feet

Vocabulary

un chiot: a puppy

Of interest. . . to young and old alike!

Another captivating and illustrated French children's story is available!  Written by my daughter, Marianne Lecron, Le Lapin à la Recherche du Printemps is the latest adventure of the intrepid and kind rabbit, Papa Lapin. It's chockfull of ups and downs and surprises to delight all ages. And don't forget: reading children's stories in French is a great way to improve vocabulary, comprehension, and grammar!

Sold worldwide on Amazon in French, or in English, The Rabbit in Search of Spring. Click here to have a closer look.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Tout est bien qui finit bien 

Another happy ending in one of a series of charming French children's stories, Le Lapin et le Roi Grenouille, written by yours truly's daughter, Marianne Lecron. A talented storyteller and writer, if I do say so myself, Marianne continues to expand the circle of animal friends of her main character, Papa Lapin, a polite and empathetic rabbit always ready to give a hand or intervene to save the day. 

Reading illustrated children's stories in a foreign language is a great way to jumpstart the acquisition of a second language, whether you be an adult or a child. Marianne's books are available worldwide on Amazon, in both French and English. Click here to take a peek!

Expression 

sauver la situation: save the day

©2022 P. B. Lecron

LOOKING FOR MOTHER GOOSE

Years ago I snapped this photo of my little girl feeding geese in our neighborhood park in the north of France. She was raised reading famous French fairy tales, like La Belle au Bois Dormant, Cendrillon, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, Le Chat Botté, all written by the 17th-century man of letters, Charles Perrault. Inspired by traditional folk tales, Perrault first established the fairy tale as a literary genre at the ripe age of 67 when he published Histoires ou contes du temps passés, subtitled, Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oye, or Tales of My Mother Goose. 

No one knows if there had ever been an actual person known as Mére Oye. Legend has it that she delighted children telling them tantalizing tales all ending with character-building moral lessons. Why a name like Mother Goose? Probably because for centuries the goose has been a symbol of fidelity, protection, and communication in popular culture.

Little did I know that one day my daughter would be writing her own French fairy tales perpetuating the tradition! She is gradually building a library of tales which include Le Lapin et la Lune, Le Lapin et le Roi Grenouille, and Le Lapin et l'Ornithorynque. All are available on worldwide Amazon sites, and all are available in English. Click on the titles to take a peek!

What's that title?

La Belle au Bois Dormant:  Sleeping Beauty

Cendrillon:  Cinderella

Le Petit Chaperon Rouge:  Little Red Riding Hood

Le Chat Botté:  Puss in Boots

©2020 P. B. Lecron

A GRASSY RESERVE

A haven of tall grass is reserved for the resident peafowl nesting in an out-of-the-way area in the otherwise well-manicured Parc de Bagatelle, one of Parisians' favorite botanical gardens. The park is located in the heart of the Bois de Boulogne.

Vocabulary

un nid:  a nest

un site de nidification:  a nesting site

les paons:  peafowl
un havre:  a haven

Meet Monsieur Paon!

He's a sympathetic, although vain, friend of Papa Lapin in a delightful new series of French children's stories authored by Marianne Lecron. The first two books are Le Lapin et la Lune and Le Lapin et le Roi Grenouille, and their English versions, The Rabbit and the Moon and The Rabbit and King Frog. All are available worldwide on Amazon. You can take a peek by clicking on the titles! 

©2019 P. B. Lecron

FRENCH LEAPFROG

Be careful of who you jump over!

This handsome unicorn, the central figure of one of two fountains flanking the entrance of Saint John's Cathedral in Valletta, evokes an old Chinese proverb, translated to French, that could well apply to the short-lived French occupation of Malta: Le sage ne joue jamais à saute-mouton avec une licorne. The wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn.

In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte ordered Malta to be attacked after the Maltese Order of Saint John refused to allow his fleet of more than 30,000 men to enter the Valletta harbor. Bonaparte, who had been seeking to reprovision his forces on his expedition to Egypt, left a garrison to occupy the island. The occupation ended, however, after two years of an ongoing Maltese rebellion.

The Fontaine de la Licorne was sculpted in native limestone by Mariano Gerada in 1820.

Vocabulary
jouer à saute-mouton:  to play leapfrog
un mouton:  a sheep
sauter:  to jump, to hop, to skip
une licorne:  a unicorn


Imagine that!
A fanciful, and fully-illustrated children's story written by a busy and imaginative French mother, Marianne Lecron, has appeal for young and old alike! Le Lapin et le Roi Grenouille, and its English version, The Rabbit and King Frog, carry on the old custom of telling fairy tales in an original story that renews the folklore tradition. A treasure! Both are available on worldwide Amazon sites. Click on the titles to take a peek!

©2019 P. B. Lecron

GOOD READING!

Bonne lecture !

We are pleased to announce colorful new additions to our bookcase, Le Lapin et le Roi Grenouille,

as well as its English version, The Rabbit and King Frog. This enchanting story was written by my daughter, and illustrated by yours truly. Both are available worldwide on Amazon. Click on the titles to take a peek. For young and old alike!

Vocabulary

bonne lecture:  good reading, happy reading

une bibliothèque:  a library; a bookcase

Our collection is growing! See also: Le lapin et la lune, écrit par Marianne Lecron et illustré par P. B. Lecron, and its English version, The Rabbit and the Moon.

©2018 P. B. Lecron