This book has been very effective toward improving my French reading skills.
It starts off with very simple stories (assuming you already have a beginner vocabulary to work with), which gradually increase in length and complexity.
Throughout the book, in the margins of each page, you will have translations for new words and expressions that are introduced.

I highly recommend this book to students of the French language!

J'ai aimé les histoires mais la troisième partie m'est beaucoup ennuyé.

If you would like to teach yourself French, this is a great place to start. There's a French/English dictionary at the end of the book, and English words are included in the margins throughout the book to help you along. The dialogues were cute and sometimes humorous, and I enjpyed learning the story of the country. The book gave me a great feeling of achievement to start with simple dialogues and by the end to read great French authors. Now I have the confidence to think I could do more, which may be the best compliment for a textbook.

At first, the contents are very boring and tedious, then it gets increasingly useful with historical facts and figures. In the second part, there are a few classic short stories which are the best reading materials.

This starts out really easy (and boring) but moves quickly into more interesting material on famous people, and then into simple literature excerpts. I thought this book was an excellent review of French for people like me, who learned it years ago but are pretty rusty.

A very useful book for someone at the beginning to intermediate stages of learning French. This book grows with the reader, so she can read more advanced passages as she advances in the language. I enjoyed all three sections, the first about an American girl and a French boy, the second about French history, and the third with well-known short stories by famous French authors. The stories that Sales selected for the third part are entertaining and offer a glimpse into specific aspects of French life during the time of the authors.
I highly recommend this book to people who want to feel more comfortable reading French and who want to continue learning vocabulary and style as they go.

الكتاب جيّد مجملًا، وسعيد بأول كتاب أقرأه بالفرنسية.

A great place to start learning to read French. I highly recommend the book.

Le français est facile à lire. Pratiquer tous les jours.

Finally finished it!!! Only started in March :P Not something I would recommend for a beginner, but great for reviving school French. Now a question of what I'm going to read next :)

This book provided an enjoyable way to brush off my high school French. The three sections present short readings that build in difficulty, starting with the first section about two young students in Paris, one French and one American. Vocabulary words are highlighted for each short chapter, and comprehension questions are also included. The second section features vignettes giving an overview of French history up to the present, and the third section includes four short stories: La Derniere Classe (Alphonse Daudet), La Grand Michu (Emile Zola), Les Peches (Andre Theuriet) and La Parure (Guy de Maupassant).

Although the Kindle edition unfortunately did not indicate this, there is a free McGraw-Hill Language Lab app so you can hear the vocabulary and readings in French, a very useful supplement to the written text. I would recommend getting a paperback version of this book, since using the glossary in the back was so cumbersome on the Kindle that I gave up and used a paperback French dictionary instead.

Julie est une chienne

It’s good; knock two birds with one stone: learn French and history. Definitely need to do a reread