POESIE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE: POEMES #1 Coprocom, 1989. VHS cassette, 15:00 min., $200.00 POESIE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE: POEMES #2 Coprocom, 1989. VHS cassette, 27:00 min., $250.00 POESIE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE: COMPTINES Coprocom, 1989. VHS cassette, 18:30 min., $200.00 POESIE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE: CHANSONS, COMPLIMENTS ET VIRELANGUE Coprocom, 1989. VHS cassette, 12:30 min., $100.00 POESIE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE: FABLES Coprocom, 1989. VHS cassette, 27:00 min., $250.00 Available as a series: $900.00 All distributed by Le Groupe Multimedia du Canada, 5225 rue Berri, Montreal, Quebec H2J 2S4. Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8/Ages 4 to 13 Reviewed by Patricia Cooper. Volume 19 Number 3 1991 May "Poesie de la Francophonie" is a series of five videos designed to intro­duce children to poems, rhymes, verses, tongue-twisters and fables written by French-speaking people around the world. The production is of high quality: each selection is illustrated in vibrant, exuberant colour using a variety of techniques; in most cases the visualiza­tion of the poem (or song, etc.) will aid comprehension even when children do not understand all the words. The musical accompaniment suits the mood and pace of the item. Only occasionally are words lost in the music. Some selections, however, will probably prove to be difficult for students to understand due to the speed of delivery. Each selection is introduced by a written screen and orally by a male or female reader, who interprets each piece in a lively and expressive manner. The content of each video offers a variety of subject matter, mood and pace; there is something that will appeal to all children. Poemes #1 presents a selection of twelve simple, child-oriented poems by M. Careme, while Poemes #2 introduces poems by various poets, including some of France's most well known poets, such as Ronsard, Verlaine, Hugo, de Musset, Rimbaud - and French-Canadian Saint-Denys Garneau. Fables contains twelve of Jean de Lafontaine's most popular and well-known fables, and one fable by Florian, also a French fabulist. The language is difficult and the fables are not easy to interpret visually. This video could best be utilized after studying the printed text. With varied mood and subject range, Chansons, compliments et virelangue introduces young people to several works written and sung by Julos Beaucame. The author-singer's enuncia­tion is excellent, and children will enjoy the liveliness of the selections - which include a French version of 'The Cat Came Back." Other items included in this cassette are read by Helene Mondoux, whose diction is very clear and her reading expressive. Comptines presents rhymes by several authors as well as some popular stories in rhyme. The varied mood and wide subject range will assure that there is something here to appeal to all children. The great disadvantage of "Poesie de la Francophonie" is the lack of accompa­nying written text and guide. Since the series' title implies the contents repre­sents the poetry of French-speaking people in the world, and many of the selections are by little known or un­known writers, teachers would find biographical sketches of each author very useful. Although the appealing content and high quality production would make this series a valuable teaching resource for francophone students and for students in French Immersion and Core French pro­grammes, I cannot recommend pur­chase of this series without support materials, especially by teachers of French as a second language. Patricia Cooper, Brampton Public Library and Art Gallery, Brampton, Ont.