 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
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 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
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Nicholas
- By Rene Goscinny
- Genre: Humor
Common Sense Media says
French classic about misbehaving schoolboys.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a book finds its humor in schoolboy misbehavior, including playing hooky, fighting, and smoking a cigar. The incorrigible boys are usually punished one way or another, but this has little effect on their behavior.
What's the story?
In nineteen related short stories, Nicholas and his friends, French schoolboys in an all-boys school, innocently and with great good humor and energy destroy everything they get near. They drive their teachers and parents nuts, flummox a school inspector, play hooky, smoke a cigar, play soccer without a ball, destroy a school play, deal with report cards, and much more.
Is it any good?
A bestseller in France since 1959, this uproarious translation is a time warp to a kind of children's book you don't see much anymore. Rene Goscinny, author of the Asterix series, imbues his short, funny stories with no deeper meaning, no character development, and above all, no life lessons. All of the characters are badly behaved but oddly charming. These manage to amuse without resorting to the vulgarity relied upon by so many modern authors.
Filled with tiny cartoons by New Yorker artist Jean-Jacques Sempe that perfectly match the text, this will keep many children amused for hours, though the more worldly may find it tepid. It is tepid, but that can be a virtue. If you're looking for a bedtime read-aloud that will get your kids giggling without getting them too riled up, you could hardly do better.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how much of the humor also comes from Nicholas not really understanding what's wrong with his behavior. Also worth some discussion is the difference between this depiction of school and child behavior in '50s France, and today's schools in America.
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Very funny in context
My 8 year-old daughter was given Nicholas for a Christmas present. What a treat! Nicholas is a French, male version of Junie B. Jones, one of our favorite characters. The book is written from Nicholas' point of view so you get to hear him describe the adults reactions and what they say. This child's vantage point provides much of the humor. Yes, Nicholas' main occupation is getting into trouble, i.e. smoking a cigar and then getting sick. But hearing his comments on the chaos he and his classmates create is what will bring on the smiles and make you and your child laugh out loud. I suggest you read this out loud to the whole family.
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| Author: | Rene Goscinny |
| Illustrator: | Jean-Jacques Sempe |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Humor |
| Publisher: | Phaidon Press |
| Publication date: | September 5, 2005 |
| Number of pages: | 126 |
| Hardcover price: | $19.95 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 10 - 14 |
| Read aloud: | 8 |
| Read alone: | 9 |
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