The French Series That My 6 Year Old LOVES!
Hello, my Fluent readers!
Welcome to my blog - where I share with you my stories about multilingual parenting.
Until the world gets on this multilingual books thing I’m obsessed with… We are looking at great monolingual options.
Today, I want to delve into a delightful world that has captured the heart of my 6-year-old boy: Dogman. The beloved French books that have become a cherished part of our reading adventures - like, I’m talking, the kid reads on his own. Created by the talented Dav Pilkey, Dogman is a series that combines multilayered storytelling with comic-style illustrations.
Just so you know:
Dogman, is a half-dog, half-human superhero/cop, and has a colourful cast of companions. They embark on wild, action-packed escapades. As a middle-aged mom, the humour targeting my little youngin’… leaves something to be desired. But that’s not what is important! What is important is that my son will sit down and read the books for over an hour…. I have timed it.
I should also note that for him ‘reading’ means looking at the pictures and reading some but not all of the text. We also have a habit of reading books together before bed. My son gets to choose the books and 9 out of 10 times we have been reading Dogman since the books arrived in our home.
What makes Dogman even more exciting for us is that it is available in Canadian- French, providing a fantastic and easy opportunity for language learning. I just love that Dog man available in so many languages… check out the options on the Dogman Wiki. Scholastics even makes Dogman in European-French. These kinds of distinctions make me nerd out for hours - trying to understand the subtle differences in the way humour is communicated between the two dialects of French.
Dogman has played a significant role in nurturing my son's love for reading. He went from reading with us at bedtime to reading the books on his own. It’s simply because he loved the stories so much. The stories themselves speak my son’s language. I like that all the stories dogmanify classical literature such as “Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea” and the stories have interesting literary devices such as stories within stories. However, I’m not that interested in dog poop humour and the chaotic antics of the characters. Yet my son loves these stories… and there is something about what’s happening in the stories that just makes sense to him and is also seriously entertaining. He’s not the only one. Other multilingual parents I know also give Dogman their fluent reading approval.
We started it in English and this past month have introduced the French books since he is out of his French school for the summer. So I am supplementing his home languages with more French resources. As a person who did not start reading until I was 8 years old… I find it magical that my 6-year-old is already a comfortable and competent reader in both English and French. (We are still working on the Arabic and German situation, to be honest.) A big part of my son’s independence in reading is thanks to Dogman. It’s also that we started reading in multiple languages EARLY.
Check out Dav Pilkey! Let me know what you think.
(Note: Dogman is a registered trademark of Dav Pilkey. This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the official Dogman series or its creators.)
