I have fond memories of reading some of these stories in their original form (I think) in my 10th grade French class (sadly, these are the ONLY fond memories I have of studying French!). Goscinny's endearingly naughty little boys made a wonderfully refreshing change from the forced profundities of Le Petit Prince, to say nothing of the banal social lives of the dopey looking Parisian teens who populated a text-book called "Nos Amis." Sempe's cartoonishly simply but wickedly expressive illustrations also added a great deal of charm. So I always thought I'd like to go back and revisit Nicholas, perhaps even in French, but this relatively recent and highly attractively produced English-language edition made it easy and pleasant to be lazy. Truth be told, this time around, I might have found the stories to be more rewarding if I had had to work harder when reading them. As it was, I found them amusing, but they get a little repetitive. Most of the book I read aloud to my eight-year-old, who giggled a lot, but also asked me to stop reading sometimes, and skip to the next chapter, because he gets a little anxious when things go wrong in stories -- and these particular stories are not so subtle that he couldn't see that such things as playing hooky and smoking a purloined cigar were not going to end well. In fact, sometimes I felt distinctly uneasy myself wondering what my son made of all the of cheerful punches to the nose in this book, and the regret at not being able to whack the teacher's pet because of his glasses. Also Goscinny does so much winking over Nicholas' head at the adult reader, who is clearly meant to sympathize with the overwhelmed teachers and parents, that one almost wonders if it's meant for children at all. So, to put it more succinctly, I enjoyed it, but am slightly relieved it's over.
Next time, or one of the sequels perhaps, en français? Well, no harm in being optimistic!