Mnemonic device book: which one to choose, from primary school to competitive exams
Everyone knows "Mais où est donc Ornicar ?". Hardly anyone has ever learned how to create others. That's a shame, because a considerable portion of what a student must remember—lists, sequences, exceptions, formulas—has absolutely no internal logic, and therefore is very poorly retained through re-reading.
The essentials in 30 seconds
- A mnemonic device is used to remember what has no logic: lists, sequences, exceptions. The rest can be understood—and what is understood is better retained.
- The most effective technique is not a mnemonic: it is active recall, testing yourself instead of re-reading.
- Five books, one for each audience: primary school, middle school, high school, CRPE (teaching exam), and IFSI (nursing school).
- From 148 to 274 tips depending on the title, in short, colorful cards. From €9.99 in PDF, €24.99 in paperback, free shipping.
- For tips by subject (English, conjugation, planets, history dates), visit our blog.
Table of Contents
Why mnemonic devices work
Memory struggles to retain the arbitrary and thrives on meaning. A list of seven conjunctions makes no sense; "Mais où est donc Ornicar?" has one, even if it is absurd—and the absurd sticks even better. The process is not magic: it gives unstructured information a borrowed structure.
This also explains its limitation. A mnemonic device never makes you understand a concept: it avoids having to re-learn it. For a proof, a line of reasoning, or a method, it is useless—understanding is what does the work. The right question is therefore not "how to memorize everything," but "what, in this lesson, has no logic?". What remains after this filtering is exactly what deserves a tip.
The five techniques that really work
Mnemonic devices are just one of five, and not the most powerful.
| Technique | What it involves |
|---|---|
| The mnemonic device | Transforming a dry list into a sentence, image, or acronym. "Mais où est donc Ornicar?" tells you nothing about grammar—but it makes the seven coordinating conjunctions impossible to forget. The brain remembers raw lists poorly; it remembers absurd stories well. |
| Active recall | Closing the notebook and trying to recite, rather than re-reading. It is unpleasant, slow, and by far the most effective technique ever measured in learning psychology. Re-reading gives the illusion of knowing; testing yourself reveals what you still don't know. |
| Spaced repetition | Reviewing a concept at increasing intervals—the next day, three days later, a week later—rather than ten times the day before. The same total revision time produces a much more durable memory. |
| Chunking (breaking into small blocks) | Working memory holds about four items at once. A phone number is remembered in groups of two digits, not as one block. A lesson is the same: you break it down before learning it. |
| Visual anchoring | A color, a diagram, a position on the page. Visual memory is often the most solid, and it's the one that a page of plain grey text never utilizes. |
They combine: a mnemonic device provides the grip, active recall verifies that it holds, and spaced repetition embeds it over time. Used alone, none of them is sufficient.
The four mistakes that waste the most time
Before adding a method, there is often more to be gained by removing one. Here is what takes up the most revision hours at all levels for the least result.
| Mistake | Why it doesn't work |
|---|---|
| Re-reading your notes | It is the most practiced and least effective revision activity. Familiarity with a text is very easily confused with mastery of the content. |
| Highlighting | Highlighting occupies your hands, not your memory. A course that is entirely yellow no longer has any hierarchy. |
| Reviewing everything the night before | Cramming works for a quiz and fails for an exam: what is learned in a block is forgotten in a block. |
| Reviewing without testing yourself | Without questions asked, there is no way to know what has been mastered. Verification only happens on the day of the test—too late. |
The five Pense-Bêtes books
Each title covers the concepts actually in the curriculum for its audience and transforms them into tips, one per card. The content changes entirely from one book to another.
Pense-Bêtes primary · CP to CM2
The Great Book of Pense-Bêtes — Primary (CP-CM2)
171 tips across 102 color pages.
€24.99Free shipping · print-on-demand in Europe
Memorizing in primary school: the guide
Pense-Bêtes middle school · 6e to 3e
The Great Book of Pense-Bêtes — Special Middle School (6e-3e)
148 tips across 88 color pages.
€24.99Free shipping · print-on-demand in Europe
Memorizing in middle school: the guide
Pense-Bêtes high school · 2de to Terminale
The Great Book of Pense-Bêtes — Special High School (2de-Tle)
274 tips across 160 color pages.
€29.99Free shipping · print-on-demand in Europe
Memorizing in high school: the guide
Pense-Bêtes CRPE · for the teaching exam
The Pense-Bêtes of the CRPE — 150 tips for the 2026 exam
150 tips across 164 color pages.
€29.99Free shipping · print-on-demand in Europe
Memorizing for the CRPE: the guide
Pense-Bêtes IFSI · in nursing, PASS and nursing assistant training
The Healthcare Student's Pense-Bêtes — 150 tips (IFSI)
150 tips across 160 color pages.
€29.99Free shipping · print-on-demand in Europe
Memorizing in IFSI: the guideWhich Pense-Bêtes book to choose based on profile
Five books, one for each audience. The content changes completely from one title to the next: the concepts actually in each level's curriculum have been transformed into tips.
| Book | For whom | Tips | Pages | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pense-Bêtes Primary | CP to CM2 | 171 tips | 102 p. | €24.99 |
| Pense-Bêtes Middle School | 6e to 3e | 148 tips | 88 p. | €24.99 |
| Pense-Bêtes High School | 2de to Terminale | 274 tips | 160 p. | €29.99 |
| Pense-Bêtes CRPE | teaching exam | 150 tips | 164 p. | €29.99 |
| Pense-Bêtes IFSI | nursing, PASS, nursing assistant | 150 tips | 160 p. | €29.99 |
The entire range is gathered in the Pense-Bêtes collection, including the CRPE and IFSI editions.
Paperback or PDF?
The content is strictly identical. The paperback can be annotated, flipped through, laid open on a table, and slipped into a bag—it's the format that really gets used, day after day. The PDF arrives immediately, can be reprinted as many times as you like, and costs less: practical for testing the content, or for printing only the cards that are problematic.
The Primary, Middle School, and High School titles exist in both formats. The CRPE and Healthcare Student titles exist only in paperback, in A4 format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a mnemonic device?
A process that transforms difficult-to-remember information into something the memory grabs easily: a sentence, an image, an acronym. "Mais où est donc Ornicar?" tells you nothing about grammar, but it makes the seven coordinating conjunctions impossible to forget.
Are mnemonic devices really effective?
For specific use, yes: memorizing lists, sequences, and arbitrary correspondences that cannot be reconstructed through reasoning. They do not replace understanding a concept—they prevent having to re-learn it every time.
Which Pense-Bêtes book should I choose?
The one that corresponds to your actual level: Primary (CP to CM2), Middle School (6e to 3e), High School (2de to Terminale), and two titles specialized for the CRPE exam and for healthcare studies (IFSI, PASS, nursing assistant). The content changes entirely from one title to the next.
What is the difference between the paperback and the PDF version?
The content is identical. The paperback can be annotated, flipped through, and carried around; the PDF is available immediately and can be reprinted as many times as you like. The Primary, Middle School, and High School titles exist in both formats; the CRPE and Healthcare titles are paperback only.
From what age can one use these tips?
From the first grade (CP) for image-based tips and reference sentences. More abstract acronyms become effective around the fourth grade (CM1), and formula compression techniques from middle school onwards.
Do these books follow school curricula?
Yes: the tips focus on the concepts actually in the curriculum at each level. They are not textbooks—they do not re-explain the lessons, they provide reference points to remember what has already been understood.
What are the shipping times?
Paperback books are print-on-demand in Europe: 5 to 10 working days, free delivery with no minimum purchase in metropolitan France. PDF versions are accessible immediately after purchase.
Find the tip book for your level
Five books, from primary school to competitive exams. Print-on-demand in Europe, free shipping.
See the Pense-Bêtes collectionSummarize this page with an AI:
Kidibook designs educational workbooks and books from kindergarten to competitive exams, written based on official curricula and illustrated in-house. All our works are print-on-demand in Europe. A question about choosing a book? Write to us; we respond within 48 hours.