A walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino
Walker Books, 2014. ISBN 9781406341522.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Paris, Cities, Grandparents, Travel. A
grandfather and his granddaughter spend a day walking through the
main attractions of Paris, giving information about each place where
they stop, and adding a few French words to the reader's vocabulary
as they go.
At the day's end all readers will have a greater understanding of
where the places of interest are in Paris, the City of Light, as
well as some understanding of French culture.
Each double page is a delight, with colour filled drawings of the
older man and his young charge, looking at the sights, sounds and
colour of this magical city.
The endpapers have a map of Paris enabling the reader to follow
their trail around the Seine, the city's river. The first endpaper
is a map with their intended trail marked on it, while the last
endpaper has a small index, drawings of their Bistro bill, tickets
to some of the places they have seen, some euros and cakes.
One double page which interested me was the view from inside a
bistro, and the text explains what a bistro is and why it is
specifically French, then the images shows the girl and her grandpa
sitting at a table while smaller images are redolent of some aspects
of French culture. There is a dog in the bistro, a wall menu has the
Plats du Jour, there is a range of people eating and drinking in the
bistro, while through the window can be seen the Boulangerie.
On another double page is a view of the well known Paris streets,
with their four stories, balconies and shops on the street level.
The text again explains why the Parisian streets all look like this,
and shows the difference between the small medieval streets and the
newer boulevards. And towards the end of the book is a fold out
picture of the Eiffel Tower, which will delight younger readers.
This is a charming book, not only for classrooms where French is
taught, but also for anyone interested in this beautiful city,
learning of the culture, language and sights as they tour with the
young girl and her grandfather. A companion book, A walk in New
York was published in 2012.
Fran Knight