So, I was very pleased to find that they were also gettable in Spanish ! Result !
Mind you, the Spanish versions are a bit more expensive ... but well worth it.
The strange thing is, I bought 3 of the French ones years ago but never got around to reading them.... which was serious error of judgement.
So ... now I'm reading him in Spanish and enjoying it just as much. I think this would be really motivating for young people learning Spanish .... and adults too. The ridiculous antics of this bunch of kids will strike a chord with every reader throughout the world. Very few books have ever made me laugh out loud, but these do it on nearly every page.
My sons (age 6 & 9) love this book, and I really enjoy reading it with them. We laughed so much at 'Playing Cowboys' that we had to stop reading (even second time around!), and we also loved 'Jocky', 'A Game of Football' and 'The Bike'. There is a great cast of characters, especially Nicholas and his friends: fat Alec with his pocket full of croissant and teacher's pet Cuthbert are particularly memorable. As with the best children's books (and films!), there were things I found funny and other things my children liked, so it succeeded all round. The book is beautifully presented, with lovely line drawings - and, of course, all that French culture...
My Mother bought this wonderful book for my daughter (8 "almost 9")and she has rushed to bed every night to be read to from it. She remembers all of the catch phrases and character traits of the characters and begs me for one more chapter. We finished reading it last night and she has asked for me to start again. The author has captured the mind of a child so beautifully which just goes to show that some things do not change over time and generations.
My daughter is already asking for more of the books in the series.
My six year old son, Joshua, thinks this is the funniest book ever - particularly for the story "Jocky" in which the boys use some Naughty Words ("Great fat nit!") which are endlessly repeated by the foreign boy who (apparently) doesn't know what they mean.
The stories each follow a similar formula - the children cause mayhem, have a great time, and are then baffled by the despair of the adults - but never become repetitive, and they show deep understandning of childrens' (and adults') behaviour.
We are promised more, and I can't wait (it'll be "Jocky" for us here every bedtime until then!)
Ayer te busque
Entre el suelo, y el cielo, mi cielo
Y no te encontre
Y puedo pensar que huyes de mi
Porque mi silencio una corazonada
Me dice que si
Donde estas corazon?
Ven regresa por mi
Que la vida se me vuelve en ocho
Si no estas aqui
Y quiero pensar
Que no tardaras
Porque en el planeta no existe
Mas nadie a quien pueda yo amar
[coro]
Donde estas corazon?
Ayer te busque
Donde estas corazón?
Y no te encontre
Donde estas corazon?
Saliste de aqui
Ay buscando quien sabe
Que cosas
Tan lejos de mi
Y puedo pensar
Y vuelvo pensar
Que no tardaras
Porque en el planeta no existe
Mas nadie a quien pueda yo amar
[coro]
Te busque
En al amario
En al abecedario
Debajo del carro
En el negro en el blanco
En los libros de historia
En las revistas
Y en la radio
Te busque por las calles
En donde tu madre
En cuadros de botero
En mi monedero
En dos mil religiones
Te busque hasta
En mis canciones