December 2022, Mythiko Press, 32 pages, Paperback, Review copy
Summary from Mythiko
"It's expedition o'clock!" cries Mac, putting down his French book.
"Expedition Supervisor ready!" replies his sister, Meli.
Adventure isn't far away when they stumble across a lost flamingo who speaks French. Can they help Freddie find his way to the flamingo festival of the year?
Join Meli and Mac for some flamingo fun in Serendipity Forest - and use the translation guide to learn a little French along the way!
Meli & Mac: Rendez-Vous with a Flamingo was selected by the Cyprus Association of Children’s and Young People’s Books (Cyprus IBBY), exhibited at the 60th annual Bologna International Children's Book Fair in March 2023 and at the 19th annual Book Fair in Thessaloniki, Greece in May 2023.
Nayu's thoughts
As someone who learned French at school and who enjoys watching anime in French and occasionally reading novels in the language, I was very intrigued how French would be incorporated in Meli and Mac's adventure. I was happily surprised it was done perfectly. There is a double-page spread at the back of the tale with all the translations and a few extra, but most importantly all French in the story is translated somewhere on the page, so breaking immersion of the tale to flip to the back is not necessary. This is good as it won't break story flow.
Meli and Mac are really sweet siblings who somehow have a magical journal which when taken to a nearby forest transports them to far away lands and bring them home again. I loved the soft yet bright style illustrations which had loads of details to explore on each page. I love how Freddie is originally Mac's toy brought to life, how they see sights typically French, and they use what they learn when the finally go on the trip to France that they were studying for. There are lots of fun facts about flamingos to learn while Meli and Mac help their new friend out. The characters are lively and it is a great way to help introduce or reinforce words readers may have already learned in French class.
Suggested read
Another colour read is The Art Garden by Penny Harrison and Penelope Pratley (Children's, Picture book 10E/10E)
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