.png){kind=logo}
.png){kind=logo}
Once you are at B1, you can start to access a wider range of books, with greater lengths. A good way to find such books is to use the French Amazon site, and to look at the categories of 9 to 11 yrs, as well as Adolescent and Young Adult.
You should choose a book category which you like, then check any samples of text (‘Feuilleter’ on the main image), to see if the match is right for you.
Once you get up to B2, you can widen out even more. First of all, read translations of any English author you already like – this will be easier than original French stuff as translations tend to keep close to the original structure/grammar and don’t bring in any idiomatic stuff. Then you can move onto some popular French authors, who tend to write for a younger audience, or in an inclusive way.
A few suggestions are:
A series of medium-length books of approx 200 pages. Translated from English, but the French is good. Reading age about 12 yrs, but generally at B1 plus as the vocabulary is not too high. 13 books available. Well written and funny.
5 books, with reading ages of 12 yrs (early B2). Popular series of native French short novels (about 100 pages), about family life, school, growing up. Well written and carries you along.
Kamo, l’agence Babel, Kamo et moi, l’évasion de Kamo, Kamo, l’idee du siécle.
A popular contemporary story, with a lot of life’s problems and complexities. Engaging author’s voice. Reading age of 12 rs - B2. 192 pages.
Very popular book, native French and well written. Reading age of 13 rs - B2. 256 pages.
The series has a reading age of 13 yrs plus, which is fairly constant across the books, although the content is longer and more mature as you progress. As it's a translation (with some predictability to the grammar), and you (probably) know the series and what they’re talking about, this means that you should be able to manage this just after achieving B2. 300 pages +. Fun to see how the names are changed, and to follow how expressions are translated.
I : Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers
II : Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets
III : Harry Potter et le prisonnier d'Azkaban
IV : Harry Potter et la Coupe de Feu
V : Harry Potter et l'Ordre du Phénix
VI : Harry Potter et le Prince de Sang-Mêlé
VII : Harry Potter et les Reliques de la Mort
The films are close to the books and you can get them with French dubbing.
Although written about young children (and often thought of as children's books), they are not actually that easy (Reading Age about 12 yrs), and you will need to be B2 to manage them well. They are in native French, with colloquialisms and some stuff which is a bit historic. 120+ pages. Great fun if you get into them. Well worth linking in with the two films, which are faithful to the books.
The key ones are:
Les Récrés du petit Nicolas Les Vacances Du Petit Nicolas Le Petit Nicolas et les copains Le Petit Nicolas a des ennuis
Currently most popular French novel. Reading age 14 yrs ( B2 +). Text carries you along. " Un roman tendre, drôle et divertissant”. 256 pages. If you enjoy this author, then she has a number of other books that you can follow up.
Mainstream authors
In order of popularity, the main French authors, two of their key books and their Reading Ages (RA) are:
Guillaume Musso (Parce que je t'aime,
Un appartement à Paris) RA 11.75 yrs
Marc Levy (Et si c'était vrai, Elle et Lui) RA 11.9 yrs
Katherine Pancol (Les Yeux jaunes des crocodiles,
La Valse lente des tortues) RA 10.85 yrs
David Foekinos (La Délicatesse, Le potential érotique de ma femme ) RA 12.2 yrs
Fred Vargas (Sous les ventes de Neptune, L'homme au cercles bleus) RA 10.8 yrs
The difficulty of all of these popular writers is quite close, around the early B2 level. This moderate level of difficulty (for French natives) will of course make the books accessible to the wider French public.
In case you are interested in something to get your teeth into, a book such as Les Parisiens sont pires que vous ne le croyez by Robitaille has a readability of 16.5 yrs, Le Suicide français by Zemmour has a readability of 16.2 yrs, and Soumission by Houellebecq has a readability of 16.5 yrs (all C1 therefore).
There are also a number of minor popular writers, who are easier than the normal range, for example Gilles Legardinier with Demain J'arrête !, which has a readability of 10.2 yrs (upper B1).