Storytime Saturday: Belle and Sebastien

Storytime Saturday a weekly blog feature showcasing any new books we’ve been reading with Erin, reviewing picture books and talking about our monthly library haul! Basically, Storytime Saturday is all about books! This week I’m talking about Belle and Sebastien by Cecile Aubry.

The son of a Gypsy woman, Sebastien is found as a newborn baby in the Alps and brought up by Guillaume and his grandchildren Angelina and Jean. Born on the same day, Belle is a beautiful white Pyrenean Mountain Dog who has been neglected and passed on from owner to owner, until one day she escapes from a kennel. When Sebastien rescues the runaway Belle from the wrath of the villagers, the boy and the dog form a lifelong friendship and embark on exciting adventures in the mountains.

The idea behind this story is absolutely beautiful. Poor Sebastian’s mother dies while giving birth to him and ends up living with another family. While living in the Alps, Sebastien meets and befriends a mountain dog, Belle, who has problems of her own.

I really enjoyed the story because both Belle and Sebastien had things to overcome. They were also able to find something in each other and their friendship was wonderful. As someone with both a child and a dog, it made me wonder how much Erin will grow up to love Jackson. She’s already obsessed with him now!

One of the problems I had with this book, unfortunately, was the translation. Belle and Sebastien has been translated from French and in the process, some of the tenses have gotten a bit mixed up. This threw me off a bit while reading. However, I’m not sure that children will pick up on this too much though, especially with a parent reading to them.

Belle and Sebastien was published by Alma Classics on 21st July 2016.

Amazon

Disclaimer: I was sent this book for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. 

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