Petit déjeuner à Paris [Breakfast in Paris]

A Story in Easy French with Translation, Vol. 1: Belles histoires à Paris [A Story in Easy French with Translation, Vol. 1: Beautiful Stories in Paris]

By: France Dubin

Narrated by: France Dubin

Jacqueline, an American divorcée, is going to Paris for the first time in her life. In this magical city, she will discover many surprises, including about herself.

With this fun novel, written in easy French, we visit the city of lights with Jacqueline. It's a fantastic way to learn new vocabulary and to travel to Paris!

Reading an audiobook in French can be difficult, even for advanced learners. French novels are usually full of idiomatic expressions. They use complicated tenses, complex sentence structures, and often slang. This audiobook, written in easy French, is recommended for French learners with a basic understanding of French at a pre-intermediate level and above.

The audiobook is divided into two sections:

Section 1 has the story written completely in French and includes vocabulary and grammar exercises.

Section 2 contains the complete translation in English and answers to all the exercises so that listeners can check their comprehension.

©2020 France Dubin (P)2020 France Dubin

Audio is wonderful

I love this book. I am learning French and the speaker helps me understand French. I love this program. In fact, I love Amazon and audible. mercibeaucoup.

Slow and clear. Very good.

Loved it. The reading was slow and clear, easy to understand and useful. Great book.

Fun Easy French Novella

France Dubin’s books are a fun, effective way to improve your listening and reading if you are a French learner.

This book doesn’t disappoint. It is an engaging, romantic story of a woman’s unexpected trip to Paris.

I highly recommend it for French learners.

Helps me practice my French

All of this author stories are a very pleasant way to keep up my French when I am back in the USA. Sweet stories, well written, well spoken.

Pour Debutantes

An excellent novel for those learning french. The narrator reads clearly and slowly. The wording is easy to understand and the story is interesting.

Wonderful!

In my study of French and other languages, I almost always have to metaphorically grit my teeth to get through the exercises - like cod liver oil, they are supposed to be good for you, but not much fun to get through.

This book + and all the other books by France Dubin (I've bought them all in both paperback and audiobook and have gone through about half of them so far) are just the opposite. Each one is a gem, both in content and narrative. The fact is, that Madam Dubin is not just a great teacher, but a superb storyteller. And the truth is that I devour everything she writes because the stories are so good, so compelling, so real.

Where traditional French materials are something of a slog, France Dubin's stories - written and told aloud - are a joy, something to look forward to. These are stories where you learn French effortlessly because you can't wait to see what happens next. The level is - at least for me - perfect. Not too easy, not too hard.

Often the subject matter of other language tutors is disjointed - unrelated sentences - or student oriented. These are stories for adults. They are stories about what happens every day and to everyone (sooner or later). She has a delightful sense of humor that occasionally borders on the mildly naughty (e.g. the titles of the Merde! series) - but delightfully so. So you hear and read about daily life - food, travel, dress, meeting people, shopping, geography, history; there are love stories and even occasionally - tragedy. There is emotional content to the stories - it's not just a travelogue - there are ups and downs (like life itself). And you hear everything with France Dubin's beautiful, clear speaking voice. She articulates every word perfectly with an exemplary French pronunciation. Her tempo is ideal for me (lower intermediate) - often with other French audiobooks the speed is just too fast. Comprehension is enhanced because the context of the narrative usually makes clear the meaning of the word, even if I might not know or remember it.

The best way to do one of her books might be this: First, read through the French (paperback) story; simply check the English translation in the back when you encounter words or phrases that you don't know. Then listen to the audiobook. Ideally, repeat this, or least listen to it two (or even three) times. The magic that happens is that now that the story is familiar is both print and audio versions, you listen to it with near-instant comprehension, almost like listening to a story in English (assuming that is your native tongue). Each of the story series bears multiple readings/listenings. And after you have done one book or one series this way, the next one is that much easier. It's just a pure please to read and/or listen to her stories - all the while improving your French vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge.

What the books (print and audio) don't provide: You actively responding in French. Thus, it would be good to complement these books with reading the text aloud for practice (and perhaps listening to your recorded self - to try to make your accent match hers [she reads all the books]; doing Pimsleur audiobooks where you havre to respond; and ideally working with a tutor/teacher where you have to converse (or if you know some French speakers, have them over for a French-only dinner).

I plan to read/listen to all of Madame Dubin's books - perhaps more than once - and then (unless by then she has written more - please please) go on to other available French books and stories, written and audiobook. In short - I can't recommend France Dubin's books highly enough. Run, don't walk, to buy them all. Vite, vite!

Loved the Story!

I found the story to be engaging and very easy to follow. I will buy the series.

Trés bien!

Je suis tellement excitée d'avoir trouvé ce livre! Il est lu si clairement, et j'ai compris presque tout le texte. C'était une histoire amusante et intéressante et je l'ai déjà terminée en seulement deux jours. C'était parfait pour mon niveau. Je suis un débutant avancé ou un débutant intermédiaire. Je suis reconnaissant d'avoir trouvé cet auteur !

A Great Start

This series has surprises and humor. It also describes Paris very well. The details of characters and places are very enjoyable. I care about the main character and identify enough with her to enjoy Paris through her eyes. The delivery of the story is lively and easy to understand--a perfect tone as well.

What a find! A real novella, slow and clear.

This is the first book of a series of three novellas. Unlike many audiobooks offering you French stories, this is a real story. Jacqueline, now divorced, is catching up with old friends at a party after many years. There, she meets an old flame, also divorced, as handsome as ever. He is now a successful businessman though, and invites her to join him on a three-day business trip to Paris. Will the city of Romance rekindle the passion they once felt? See, real story. Yet it introduces real and relevant vocabulary in a measured and clear way. The author has truly thought this out, and well done to her!

I've moved to France, and the problem with French audiobooks is they can be way too fast for non-French speakers. I usually listen on around 80% speed in the hope of catching every 2nd word or so. This book is written and read for non-French speakers, with simple sentence constructions. Also she reads slowly and clearly, so it's a great way to build confidence before venturing onto harder material. And, it's a real story, not those silly interactions that pass off as stories. It's a series of three novellas, which should be read in sequence. The audiobooks do not come with the supplementary English translation and quiz, but if you're training your ear, that should not be a problem.