Lisez-vous le français? When learning a new language it can become routine and mundane to focus all your attention on one form of learning, such as using a text book. Many language learners nowadays branch out to on-line and audio learning. For authentic reading practice though it’s sometimes difficult to find good texts for an advanced beginner. Choices are often limited to the rote text book style, extremely low level children’s books about farmyard animals, or extremely difficult newspaper or magazine articles. I have found a very small series of three books, Lire le français - Level 1, which are suitable for learners of French ages 12 and up. The stories are not excessively juvenile, and I recommend them for adult learners as well. Each book is approximately 30 pages long, and you get to “choose your own adventure” by deciding which page you will turn to when given choices throughout the story. All the stories involve a character named “Professeur Micron,” although the books themselves do not necessarily coincide. Asterisks throughout the book indicate vocabulary words which are defined, in French, in the back of the book. There is absolutely no English in the books, which helps give the reader a sense of accomplishment when he or she is able to understand the new vocabulary based on a French definition. The stories all take place in Paris and provide quite a lot of cultural references, which can be useful and interesting for the language learner. Approximately every other page has a small black and white illustration, which gives a little bit of practice reading background signs, maps, and menus. The books may be a little difficult to find outside of France, but I would recommend trying amazon.fr, which ships internationally. All of the books are written by Dominique Renaud and published by CLE International, a publisher of FLE (Français Langue Étrangère) learning materials. The ISBN numbers are included below to assist you in locating the texts. LIRE LE FRANÇAIS - Level 1: Enquête sur un bateau-mouche ISBN : 219031903X LIRE LE FRANÇAIS - Level 1: Le secret du professeur Micron ISBN : 2190319013 LIRE LE FRANÇAIS - Level 1: Aventures dans les musées de Paris ISBN : 2190319021 Bon Courage!