Pierre & Paul: Dragon! A Story Told in Two Languages = Une Histoire Racontée en Deux Langues

In this sequel to Pierre & Paul: Avalanche!, a first-of-its-kind dual-language book, French-speaking Pierre and English-speaking Paul, playing at treasure hunting, take out the garbage while imagining all sorts of adventures: a dragon in the recycling cart, a poisonous swamp in the compost bin, and a sailboat made from a discarded skateboard, umbrella, and lampshade. When the garbage truck arrives and their treasure map disappears in the dust cloud, they are heartbroken until they notice another discarded treasure – an old copy of Stevenson`s Treasure Island.

Like its predecessor, Pierre & Paul: Dragon! is different from a typical dual-language book, weaving a single narrative rather than parallel translated texts, with dialogue, lists, and narration in alternating languages. The effect is wondrous. Through the book’s repetition, simple words, and expressive illustrations, children speaking either language will easily grasp the wonder of the story. This is a book tailor-made for reading aloud, where even the adult reader does not need to be fluent in both languages. In fact, it would make an ideal first day read in a French Immersion classroom.

The illustrations are simple and charming, filled with endless possibilities to explore bilingual vocabulary, most notably the various discarded items the pair encounter. The text is sparse, but most of the story is in the interplay between the illustrations and the boys’ dialogue, inviting unending adult-child interaction. But it is the children that are the focus of the story. Other than the brief appearances of Paul’s father, the only significant adult is a passing man who, for a moment, really believes Paul is dead after the battle with the “dragon”; the man’s dog licks Paul, who sits up, with Pierre crying « il est vivant! » as the man walks off in a huff.

After the whirlwind of the boys’ adventure ends in the “tsunami” of the garbage truck’s wake, the disappointment of losing their treasure map is short-lived, and the discovery of Treasure Island becomes the stage for their next adventure. As the last line of Pierre & Paul: Avalanche! says, “They’re off treasure hunting again” reading the book. A charming ending to a story that is light but creates so many possibilities—dans toutes les deux langues officielles!