Camp Tournesol’s resident librarian is back! This time she has put together a collection of the best French comic books for kids. To make it easier for parents, we’ve added a short synopsis of each book on our list. We’ve also added quick links to find these books online and ordered them by age group so parents know which books will work best for their children.
Learning and practicing a secondary language is not always the most fun and exciting thing for children. That’s why getting them interested in more intriguing and fun comic book stories and characters whose adventures they can read about in French is a great way to make it easier for the kids. When children practice a skill like French in a way that they associate with fun, the whole process becomes much more enjoyable for everyone.
Without further ado, here is our librarian’s pick of the litter! Below is our list of the dozen best French comic books for kids, organized by ideal age group. We try not to leave any age ranges out either, with comic books for kids in SK all the way up to Grade 9 on our list.
French Comic Books For Kids: Age 5 to 6 (SK to Grade 1)
1. Mimose & Sam: À La Recherche Des Lunettes Roses by Cathon
Our first comic book for the youngest age group on our list is a lovely tale by famed children’s novelist, Cathon. Here, we revisit Mimose and Sam as they go on their second comic book adventure of their series. Bouillotte has lost their glasses, so Mimose and Sam hop onto the case. While they search for the glasses, the pair get into all sorts of funny hijinx that will keep young children interested while also providing them—and maybe the parents—with more than a laugh or two.
2. Lou Le Loup: Un P’tit Loup Grognon Comme Tout by Marie-Hélèn Delval
Here, we have another popular French comic book series for kids. The first comic book in the series, which we have added to our list here, sees Lou the wolf—a much more clever name in French—acting like a proper Scrooge. He’s mad, he’s sad, he’s annoyed, and he’s simply unpleasant. However, across a dozen fun stories, the grumpy wolf is shown to have a soft spot for none other than his mom. You could even say that he might be angry because he misses momma wolf!
French Comic Books For Kids: Age 7 to 9 (Grade 2 to Grade 4)
3. Guiby: Une Odeur De Soufre by Sampar
We go up an age group here and find ourselves at Guiby, a classic French comic book from Sampar. In this story, Guiby deals with the monster in his closet. The monster growls, groans, and scratches, but Guiby remains unafraid of the beast. One night, the brave Guiby decides he’s had enough and goes to confront the monster. To his surprise, the monster is much smaller than he thought, and instead of attacking, the beast runs away. When Guiby chases the monster, he finds himself in a whole new world full of wonders beneath the city.
4. L’Agent Jean: Le Cerveau De L’Apocalypse by Alex A.
In this fun and whacky comic book series, we visit a world of chaos filled with shady characters and evil dealings. In this world, there is a super-secretive group simply called ‘The Agency.’ The job of this secret force is to protect the world from all of the scary bad guys out there. However, the arrival of a new, unique, and unorthodox agent, Agent Jean, to the workforce threatens to throw the balance of this world all out of whack. Voyage with Jean on his first of many journeys in the original volume of this comic book series!
5. Anne… La Maison Aux Pignons Verts by Maria Marsden
This classic from L.M. Montgomery is revisited here in the form of a children’s comic book with which newer readers unfamiliar with Anne can get to know her and her world. Most of us in the English-speaking world know this little tale as that of Anne of Green Gables. When Anne is adopted by a well-to-do farming family, they have no idea what they’re getting into. Anne, her luscious red locks, and her indomitable imagination bring her and the reader on countless adventures of romance, fun, and excitement!
6. Les Timbrés: Le Navet Spatial by Dom Pelletier
Another fun-filled French comic book series for children, Les Timbrés will certainly keep your children entertained. When a school janitor starts acting weird, almost zombie-like, gathering the leftover food from the garbage, two kids take on the detective role to get to the bottom of it. Tia is a new kid at school, but she quickly becomes inseparable friends with Leo, and the two set out on the case. They end up encountering a mustachio’d monster from outer space that has designs on controlling their entire school!
French Comic Books For Kids: Age 10 to 12 (Grade 5 to Grade 7)
7. Juliette À Londres by Rose-Line Brasset
As we move on from youngsters to pre-teen comic books, we come to this one from Rose-Line Brasset. Juliette is off to London to meet her idol, a world-famous magician. But before she can do that, she has to babysit for a friend. It wouldn’t be such a problem if not for the children being a couple of monsters! Juliette will navigate her babysitting duties while also discovering London’s traditions. And not to mention the dangerous situations she’ll save her charges from!
8. Victor Et Igor: Robotique 101 by Maxim Cyr
This one is a strange and whacky, but all-in-all wholesome and funny story. Ernest and Isaac are mad scientists who created Victor and Igor as a result of an experiment gone wrong. When the two kids borne of this experiment try their hand at being scientists like their creators, you can expect the unexpected! Utterly ruined experiments, very silly situations, and mind-bending discoveries are all in store for Victor, Igor, and the reader!
French Comic Books For Kids: Age 13 to 14 (Grade 8 to Grade 9)
9. Astérix & Le Menhir D’Or by René Goscinny
Back and better than ever are the beloved Asterix comics, possibly the most famous and well-known of any French comic books out there. In this story, originally published in the 1960s, Asterix and his sidekick, Obelix, accompany Assurancetourix on an adventure. During this story, Assurancetourix enters into a singing competition. He is looking to win the Golden Standing Stone, which is being watched closely by the Romans. What kind of ridiculous and hilarious adventures will our favorite heroes get into this time?
10. Minecraft: The Official Comic Book: Chasse À L’Ender Dragon by Sarah Graley
Based on the wildly popular video game, we follow a young man named Tyler in this story. Tyler has just moved to a new city and he doesn’t know anyone yet. Thankfully for him, he’s still got his crew of friends on Minecraft that he can always fall back on. Together with his Minecraft comrades, Tyler looks to go on a virtual adventure that will lead to him and his friends beating the ultimate quest of the Overworld. Can Tyler make it all the way to the End and slay the game’s final dragon?
11. L’Âge Des Secrets by Magnhild Winsnes
The penultimate French comic book for kids on our list and the third of four for our oldest age group, preteens and young teens, is a heartwarming story from Magnhild Winsnes. Hanna usually spends her summers with her best friends Siv and Mette, and they do everything together from playing games to getting into some light trouble. But then one summer, everything changes when the three friends drift apart as they begin to navigate that strange time between childhood and adolescence. A great story with an important lesson for any youngsters going through those big changes from child to teen.
12. La Tête Dans Les Étoiles by Jen Wang
Moon and Christine are growing up in the same American-Chinese neighborhood—but they could not be more different. Moon has all the confidence in the world, throws caution to the wind as she takes impulsive chances, and boasts quite the creative mind, and Christine… well she isn’t those things. However, after Moon moves in next door, the unlikely pair not only become friends but the best of friends! Then things really start to get intriguing. Moon eventually reveals her deepest secret to Christine and the readers: she has visions of gods that speak to her from the stars!
Check out more CampT French book lists:
