French Media Suggestions?

As I’ve mentioned previously, I love to get the kids ready for a trip by helping them discover the wonder of it via books, music and movies.

We will be spending a few weeks in France in July — a week in Paris and a week in Nice. While both girls have been to Paris and to Nice before, it has been quite a while, and I want them to be thinking of more than just the Eiffel Tower and EuroDisney.

A nice thing about this trip is that I have been to Paris and Nice enough times (one benefit of having worked for a French company) that there is nothing that I feel *I* must do. I’m happy to do whatever will make them happy. And that makes traveling so much easier!

Here are a few things that either I’ve thought of or my friends on twitter have suggested.

Books about Paris with Kids:

• Kidding Around Paris: A Young Person’s Guide to the City (Kidding Around Series) by Rebecca Clay

  A book written for kids with highlights and remarks directed towards kids

• Take the Kids Paris and Disneyland Resort, Paris, 6th Ed.

  A Cadogan travel book directed at adults who are traveling with kids, but Camille (10) has been diving into the sites section to find what she doesn’t want to miss. (However, we have the 2000 edition – kind of out of date…)

• Camille has really gone nuts for Fodor’s Around Paris with Kids, 3rd Edition: 68 Great Things to Do Together (Around the City with Kids), though we have an earlier edition. I think she’s circled about half of the entries as something she’d like to do.

Children’s Books:

• The classic Bemelman’s Madeleine books/movies
• The King in the Window by Adam Gopnik

  A fabulous adventure story set in Paris starring a young American boy.

• We love Laurence Anholt’s Artist Series which includes books about Picasso, Degas, Monet and Van Gogh. In fact, Camille was named after
  Right now, he’s running a contest to win a set of autographed books!

Movies: (Check the ratings; I haven’t yet watched many of these.)

• Ratatouille
• Amelie
• The Chorus (Les Choristes)
• Sabrina
• Mr. Bean’s Holiday
• French Kiss
• And my all time favorite, Red Balloon!

Music:

• Putumayo Kids Presents: European Playground
• Putumayo Presents: French Playground
• Let the Good Times Rouler!
• Annette Sylvestre
• Alain Le Lait
• Charlotte Diamond
• Edith Piaf
• Emilie Jolie (1979 French Studio Cast)
• Joe Dessin: Champs Elysees; Les Negresses Vertes: I love Paris (Cole Porter); Maurice Chevalier: Paris sera toujours Paris;
  Jacques Brel: Les Prenoms de Paris.
  Soaud Massi

Other:

• Fluffy the vulture

If you have any additional suggestions, I would love to hear them. Please comment below.

Thanks to all who contributed!