Bulles de France: les stéréotypes et l’interculturel en BD par Géraldine Jeffroy (review)

the book is centered on the métropole; there is no mention of la francophonie, which is a serious deficiency in any modern French textbook.However,as experienced instructors know, no textbook is perfect, and Voilà does serve as a good resource for adult beginning French students and their instructors. Learners enjoy the diversity of activities and the authentic sources as well as the useful chapter topics. Voilà is thus an effective textbook for teaching material relevant to adult students’ contexts. University of Wisconsin, Madison Sage Goellner Jeffroy, Géraldine, et Unter. Bulles de France: les stéréotypes et l’interculturel en BD. Grenoble: PUG, 2013. ISBN 978-2-7061-2201-9. Pp. 144. 19 a. Desperately looking for a change of pace in the classroom? This text adopts a nonconventional approach to the discovery of contemporary French society as it proposes humoristic comic strips as a point of departure to the discussion of social issues. The book is organized around eight main themes such as sports, public health, or working life. While the themes are typical of those found in mainstream textbooks’ cultural inserts, each explores more specific topics such as the transformation of urban life with the development of the Vélib’, or the debate around GMO and organic foods. Each main category includes five or six related topics with the following structure. The first two sections, Pour commencer and Comprendre, respectively, propose prereading activities and comprehension activities related to the study of the comic strip. A third section, Imaginer/S’exprimer, makes the transition between the text analysis and cultural discussion questions as it encourages students to personally relate to the topics at hand. A fourth section, Pour aller plus loin, provides students historical and background explanations on the cultural content and invites them to further reflect on the given topic,often by comparing their findings with their own cultural experience. Finally, a lexical insert concludes each section to give students the necessary tools to understand the comic strip and express an opinion about its content. The text’s pedagogical approach lies within the recommendations of the CERCL (Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues) by mainly focusing on the development of students’ sociocultural competence.As such, Bulles de France is not a college language method that includes grammatical explanations or activities pertaining to the mechanics of language learning. Nevertheless, this text provides the premises for a course rich in discussions as it includes visual literacy, as well as analysis of non-verbal communication and onomatopoeia via the study of comic strips. The ideal target audience has an intermediate level, although given its structure and content, each section could be easily adapted to a level as low as novice-mid on the ACTFL proficiency scale. In fact, the accompanying website suggests pedagogical approaches for lower levels, as well as cultural references for further activities (songs, websites, etc.). Instructors of upper level courses will also easily complement the manual with other media, debate 190 FRENCH REVIEW 89.3 Reviews 191 questions, or writing activities. Given its flexibility in approach, content, and structure, Bulles de France could be used as a complementary resource in any language class. It could also act as the main text for a course focusing on contemporary civilization or current events, as it would bring a less dramatic perspective to consider more delicate topics such as secularism, freedom of speech, or parity in politics.As students become more and more familiar with the comics’ main character Geoffroy, not only will they get a better insight into contemporary French issues, but also on the French themselves. And this, through the study of stereotypes, whether they appear in gestures, comportments , attitudes, or beliefs within each of the comics. University of Wisconsin, La Crosse Virginie Cassidy Laliberté, Robert, et Aleksandra Grzybowska, éd. Le Québec, connais-tu? Québec: PU du Québec, 2014. ISBN 978-2-7605-3923-5. Pp. 923. $100 Can. Cet excellent programme, unique en son genre et seulement disponible en format numérique (pdf), se compose de sept ouvrages qui peuvent être achetés séparément ou en série complète. Il s’adresse aux professeurs...