Cure for Reluctant Readers- Asterix

I first heard of Asterix back in 2009 when my husband, son and I vacationed in Belgium.  We stayed with a wonderful family who had a school age boy who had these comic books.  Later when  we were exploring Belgium, we also had dinner at a fast food restaurant that had Asterix prizes in the children's meals! Yes, Asterix is big in Europe!  It was started  in 1959 by Frenchman Rene Goscinny and later after his death a few other authors created more..  It is about a village with Gauls that are resisting, through magic potions, Roman rule.

Asterix is written in comic book style and children find them hilarious to read, the recommended reading level is 9 to 11 year old's or 4th to 6th grade..  Adults love them because even though they are historical fiction, they introduce children to the Romans, Caesars, Roman terminology, Gauls, Druids and the legionnaires. It depicts with a lot of humor what life was like back in 50 BC.

 There are 35 comic books in the series, but I tend to buy the omnibus, which is 3 books in one.  They follow the adventures of Astrix and children get an introduction to a lot of history and places that most American children rarely get any introduction too!  It starts in Gaul, but soon they are off with the Goths and gladiators, then Cleopatra, Britannia and Normans.  It is an amazing amount of cultures like Spain, Switzerland, Corsica and Belgium!

I highly recommend these, every mom and dad should have the opportunity to wake up in the morning and see peak at their child passionately reading and giggling!