Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette

by Frank Asch

This fresh and funny story is about imagination coming to the rescue. Monsieur Saguette, on the way home from buying a baguette to eat with his soup, uses his imagination to help himself -- and others -- in times of need by transforming his ordinary baguette into something extraordinary! A cat up a tree? No problem once our humble hero wields his trusty, crusty baguette. An alligator on the loose from the zoo? A robbery? A stalled parade? No challenge is too great or too small for Monsieur Saguette and his amazing baguette. But what will happen when this unflappable Frenchman finds himself in danger?

Genres: Picture Books, France, Fiction, Childrens, Humor, Food

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Frank Asch is an American children's writer, best known for his Moonbear picture books.

Asch published his first picture book, George's Store, in 1968. The following year he graduated from Cooper Union with a BFA. Since then he has taught at a public school in India, as well as at a Montessori school in the United States, conducted numerous creative workshops for children. He has written over 60 books, including Turtle Tale, Mooncake, I Can Blink and Happy Birthday Moon. In 1989 he wrote Here Comes the Cat! in collaboration with Vladimir Vagin. The book was awarded the Russian National Book Award and was considered the first Russian-American collaboration on a children's book.

Asch lived in Somerville, New Jersey where he and his wife home-schooled their son Devin.

He currently lives in Vermont with his wife, Jan.

Reviews

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute story of a man going to the store to get a baguette and the adventures he has on his way home.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monsieur Saguette is a French Chef who needs something for his lunch, a simple soup. So he heads to the bakery to get a long bread roll called a baguette, the type you see when you eat pasta in say, Olive Garden. As it turns out, that big thing of bread is M Saguette's greatest aid in lots of adventures en route to his home, helping him out in numerous escapes Indiana Jones would never attempt! From getting kitty cats out of trees, fighting gators to save babies, to getting pulled out of a watery grave after falling into a sewer, Saguette bags it! You see man does not live on bread alone, but it doesn't mean you can't use it as an all purpose weapon! Which makes M Saguette...Sacre Bleu!... LE SUPER HERO!!!
Four stars
Saguette has the bread that makes you say...."D'OUGH!"

[Ashlin Edmisten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really cool, but eating that baguette is GROSS.

[KarenMLISt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really fun corporate read aloud with a K/1 class! They love chiming in with "merci!" and giggling at the ridiculous uses for his baguette. That he eats the baguette in the end is _supposed_ to be crazy ... it's like animals that talk or wear clothes ... anything goes with fiction. Enjoy the humor!

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my Book Buddies Book Club (a book with a food in the title). I liked seeing all the different situations M. Saguette found himself in. The baguette was pretty funny. But after all that, there is no way I would eat that bread. Plus, I didn't like the bread in Europe anyhow.

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monsieur Saguette finds many uses for his baguette before he reaches home and eats it with his soup. Some repetition of format. Simple, muted illustrations.

[Kelsey Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit ridiculous and unsanitary but ok.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute story.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the illustrations.

[Liesl]

WHAT
This is one of those books that I saw displayed in the Children's Section of the library where I work and I picked it up because the title caught my eye. "Oh, it must be a rhyming book," I thought to myself.
OH NO IT'S NOT
It's about a man who makes soup and can't wait to eat it with bread (a feeling to which I can relate), but he has no bread at home, so he must go out to buy some. On his way home with his bread, a series of increasingly bizarre incidents occur in which Monsieur Saguette must use his baguette to escape from trouble or to help others.
Truly one of the most surreal picture books I've ever read. I'm not even sure how to rate it.