There are fourteen books in the French series and two books in Spanish.
The Online Shop can be reached by clicking Online on the menu should you decide that you would like to purchase any of the books.
Here is some guidance about which book might fit in with what you are doing.
All the books have large pictures which help children understand and the French stories now have a QR code on the back which links to a recording of the story – perfect if you’re not too confident about your own French accent. The quality of the inside pages have not transferred well to the website. This says more about my photography than the actual book! It should though give you some idea of the level of the language.
Bonjour Berthe!
Introduces Berthe and her ice-cream-loving cat. Simple French.
Word search, boardgame, word list.
La Semaine de Berthe
Berthe’s week. Days of the week and actions. The sentences are short and simple.
Word search, crossword puzzle, word list.
Les Amis de Berthe
Describes friends. Has a mixture of longer and shorter sentences. This goes well with La Famille de Berthe as you can use the book pictures and games in there to describe people. There is also a little bit of repetition.
Word search, Who is it? game, describe friend from shadow, word list.
Berthe Fait une Pizza
Simple French based on food. It doesn’t say a lot about Berthe’s hygiene standards in the kitchen! Suitable for 4-12 year olds as it is easy to follow. I met a three year old who had been read this at nursery. Has word search, design a sandwich game and a word list.
Quel Temps Fait-il, Berthe?
This is my favourite book in the series. Berthe prepares to go out. The weather keeps changing and she has to keep changing her clothes. Some repetition. Suitable for 6-12 year olds, although I read it to my granddaughter when she was three and she loved it – especially the repetition in which she could join in. (I ignore the beginning of the last paragraph with the younger ones.) The cat has a tough time!
Contains a word search, a weather pairs game to make and a word list.
Berthe Va au Supermarché
Berthe goes shopping, but things go horribly wrong. I have used this with 7-11 year olds but, having spent several years as an oral examiner at GCSE level, the vocabulary in this book would be good for older pupils or for anyone wanting to brush up on their French before a holiday.
Contains a word search, a shopping list game to make and a word list.
Berthe Fête Noël
Berthe prepares for and celebrates Christmas in France. Things go wrong. Can Berthe save the day? Contains a word search, a present quiz and a word list.
L’Année de Berthe
What Berthe does throughout the year in France. I really enjoyed doing the pictures for this book. It is a good book for introducing French customs. It is in simple French based on the months of the year with some pages containing more writing than others. 7-12 year olds.
Contains a word search, a calendar game to make and a word list.
Berthe et le Miroir Magique
Berthe buys a mirror in an antique shop. She is warned that it is a very special mirror but, as always, things go very wrong. Uses masculine and feminine forms of colours. Some repetition. 6-12 year olds. Contains a word search, a colour pairs game to make and a word list.
Berthe Va au Restaurant
Berthe goes out for a meal with a very special friend. Very useful words for ordering food in a restaurant. 7-16 year olds. A good one for holiday makers too! The amount of writing on each page varies considerably.
Contains a word search, a fill a plate game to make and a word list with all the meanings.
Berthe Va en Vacances
Berthe is preparing for her holiday. She thinks about what she normally does on holiday. But this is Berthe. Can anything go wrong? 7-16.
Contains holiday activities, a word search, a customs game to make and a word list with all the meanings.
La Famille de Berthe
In this book we meet Berthe’s family and learn a little bit about them. Will we discover who tells the stories? 7-12 years old. The French is fairly simple and the pictures lend themselves to discussion, to describing people and talking about activities.
Contains a word search, a happy families/guess who game to make and a word list.
Berthe Va à Paris
In this book Berthe visits some of the sites of Paris and we learn a little of the history. The example page contains a fair amount of writing. Some pages only have one sentence. This book is aimed at children with some knowledge of French. It does include the occasional past tense, which I have underlined and have put the meanings of these at the front of the book so that they are quicker to find. (9-12 year olds.)
Contains a word search, a quiz, a game that involves speaking and a word list.
Berthe A Perdu Son Chat. Un Jeu de Cache-Cache
Despite the perfect tense being used in the title, this book is written in simple French and provides an opportunity for learners to encounter prepositions and house vocabulary. It also gives the reader a chance to say themselves where the cat is hidden. The book contains the illustrated story, a word search, a house game, potential flashcards and a vocabulary list with meanings. I have used the house game with various groups, aged 7-11, and it proved very popular.
Spanish Berta
İ Hola Berta!
Spanish translation of Bonjour Berthe. Introduces Berta and her ice-cream-loving cat in simple Spanish.
Contains a word search, board game and a word list with all the meanings.
La Semana de Berta
La Semana de Berta is a Spanish translation of La Semaine de Berthe. Berta’s week is full of her activities. 6-12 year olds.
Contains a word search, a crossword and a word list with all the meanings.
Answers to the Berthe Voyage Quiz
1b. 2c. 3c. 4. Berthe adore voyager. 5a. 6c. 7. Berthe prend un grand livre. 8b. 9b. 10c. 11a. 12. Elle boit un thé avec la reine. 13b. 14a. 15c. 16a.
17. Berthe achète un chapeau. 18b. 19c. 20c. 21c.