FR 484: Children’s Literature in French

Apply your skills in French in a unique way.

If you’re looking for an excuse to read children’s books in class, you’re in the right place!

FR 484: Children’s Literature in French is the perfect way to explore French children’s books and practice your skills in reading, speaking, and writing in French. In this article, we’ll walk you through the ins-and-outs of FR 484, including its learning takeaways, class structure, and the required readings and assignments. We’ll also hear from Dr. Nicolas Gauthier, who teaches the course. Read on to discover more about this page-turning class!

About FR 484: Children’s Literature in French 

What you’ll learn 

In FR 484, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the definition, methodology, and impact of French children’s literature. Through the books you read, class discussions, and assignments, you’ll gain a greater understanding of what children’s literature looks like when written in French first and form your own opinions on the books’ stories, contexts, and importance. And because many of these works are unknown to English readers, you and your classmates will get to read and react to new works together as well as share your unique viewpoints. This course is taught entirely in French, so you will need a good understanding of the language as well as French culture to succeed in this class. As such, you will need to have completed FR 296: French Culture & Literature - Origins to 1715 and FR 297: French Culture & Literature - 1715 to the Present. 

Major themes 

• Definition of children’s literature 

• What is literature? What defines children’s literature in particular? You’ll get to explore the definition of literature and apply your understanding to the various texts you read, as well as study what separates children’s literature from young adult or adult literature. 

• Mechanics of children’s books 

• For each book you read in this course, you and your classmates will discuss the socioeconomical and technological context behind the story and why the author may have made the decisions they did to write the story in this way. You’ll also touch on illustrations that some of the books contain and what they add to the story as a whole. 

• Impact of children’s books on society 

• Children’s literature is commonly seen as a tool used in educating children societal values and norms. You’ll have the chance to look at how children’s books reflect and influence social debates about what children read, including how this affects censorship of books in schools. 

Readings 

While the reading list changes with every offering, you can expect to read between 3-5 pieces of children’s literature that were first published in French. The list will include books and short illustrated novels written for children ages 8-15 tied together by a common theme or location. For example, for Fall 2024, the reading list contained books written by Canadian authors within the last 60 years, including one written by a First Nations author.  

Assignments 

Graded work in FR 484 tests your comprehension of the course material and your understanding of the context behind the readings. Throughout the course, you’ll take small reading quizzes, as well as two tests to ensure that you have kept up with the readings, lectures, workshops, and concepts presented in class and have understood them. You’ll also be required to complete an oral presentation on a book of your choice from a provided list, where you’ll share your findings of the book’s themes, mechanics, and impact with your classmates. 

An average FR 484 class 

Classes are taught entirely in French, meaning you’ll get to practice your French listening and speaking skills every class. You’ll begin by hearing a short lecture about the day’s learning content, and then transition to a discussion period. In small groups and later with the whole class, you’ll get to discuss the week’s reading and lecture content. The small groups allow you to converse in French in a comfortable setting.  

Why take this course? 

This course allows you to practice your French skills as well as gain a deeper understanding of French children’s literature. For students looking to become French teachers, this course is a great way for you to understand the issues that will affect your future students. However, students taking the course due to pure interest can still find value in studying how different literary topics can transcend context and language and apply their learnings to books they read in English. 

About Dr. Gauthier 

Dr. Gauthier has been teaching at UW for over a decade with the French Department. He specializes in 19th century French novels, urban mysteries, roman feuilleton (newspaper fiction), and popular media. He is especially interested in littératures d’imagination, or stories that include surrealist worlds, magical realism, and/or elements of science fiction. An accomplished writer, Dr. Gauthier’s work has been published in journals such as Nineteenth-Century French Studies, Romantisme, Études littéraires, and Belphégor. He is also a principal investigator for Le Rez-de-chaussée, an online database of newspaper fiction in France between 1836 and 1881. 

Why do you like teaching this course? 

“I’m teaching it because it’s close to my interests. It’s also important to the field, as children’s literature is so relevant. Everyone has something to say about it. And since people are already engaged with it, they start asking ‘Does it work? What can we do with it?’ I also like how I can change the reading list every semester to fit the students and what I think would be best for them to read. When I’m creating the reading list, if something doesn’t work for me at any point, I take it out and replace it, so it’s very fluid.” 

How do you engage students during class? 

“The most important part of class is the discussions, so I keep my lectures to a minimum. It’s not a class where I’m going to start speaking at minute 1 and keep going until minute 80. I give some context for the readings, and then we focus on discussion exchange in smaller groups, and then larger ones. I do discussions in two phases, because not everyone feels comfortable speaking, in front of the whole class, especially in a second language. So, we go step by step. This is a great way for students to formulate their ideas and express themselves.” 

What do you hope students will get out of this course? 

“First of all, better comfort in French. Also, curiosity. I want students to question the books but also have fun reading them. Even though they’re children’s books, some are page-turners, and you can still have a good time reading them as an adult. French children’s literature is also important, and for many years we didn’t associate it with university. I’d like them to recognize that it’s still relevant and interesting, even in the age of movies and television. I’m not suggesting anyone cancel their Netflix account, but you’ll get to read some captivating books in this course and that’s always good!”  

What is your favourite part of the course? 

“I look forward to the discussions about the books. For Fall 2024, we have one on the reading list about the first slave in Canada that was written by an activist, and another one is a dystopian novel that was kind of a UFO in Quebec literature where people read it and thought ‘wow, where did that come from?’ Another book is part of a 10-novel series, which is not so frequent in Children’s Literature in Quebec, and another one is a book that I have suggested to several adults and, every time, they laugh through it and cry at the end. So it still evokes emotion even though it was written for kids. And more and more, it is becoming difficult for students to find common ground when it comes to pop culture. Due to the multiplication of platforms, it’s a challenge to find one artist or one work of art that we all know. But in such a class where expression is so important and we have books we read together, it’s interesting to see how we all react.” 

Special thanks to Dr. Gauthier for providing an interview for this article!