Books for German Learners: Café in Berlin

 

Level: A1
Author: Andre Klein

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Reading for pleasure in your target language is one of the best things you can do to bring you closer to fluency. I frequently credit Harry Potter as my best English teacher. There is only one problem: an original book is quite intimidating. German is particularly hostile to beginners: using convoluted  complex sentence structures is considered good style in some quarters. While digging your way through the words of Günther Grass is wonderful brain exercise for a competent speaker, someone new to the language will be intimidated and frustrated by the experience.

What to do: bilingual books with corresponding texts? Read children's books. Simplified texts? There has to be a better way. Enter Café in Berlin:  this book gets around of the problems of reading books for beginners quite elegantly. There is a little English at the beginning to make the reader feel secure, but not so much as to detract you from your main goal which is to immerse yourself into German. It’s a guide on how to read the book to help you get the most out of your experience.

Meet Dino, a young man from Sicily, who has just arrived in Germany with very little German. Together with Dino you will navigate Berlin learning common words and phrases as they are actually used in German. Each chapter if followed by a glossary of important vocabulary and

You will be able to read this book fluently without much previous knowledge. The stories are interesting and taken from real life. The language is easy to follow without patronising its reader. This is an excellent first reading book for adult readers and I thoroughly recommend it.

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Children's books for German learners: Wir Kinder aus dem Möwenweg by Kirsten Boie

Suitable: Age 8+  (Level A2+)

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Kirsten Boie: Wir Kinder aus dem Möwenweg

This series follows the children of Möwenweg, a newly build row of terraced houses on the outskirts of a German town, through the eyes of heroine Tara. Möwenweg is the absolutely best place to live for Tara – the builders may have not gotten around to put Tarmac on the road, so roller blading is out but right beyond their houses are only fields teaming with cows and wild rabbits. Once, Tara even saw a deer.

It never gets boring in Möwenweg: the children play in mud desserts, hunt criminals and sleep in tents.

This book is a brilliant book to read to kids even if they have only just started learning German. If the child is a confident reader, this is also great for independent reading. The stories are short and the beautiful illustrations by Katrin Engelking help the children to follow the narrative easily. The stories are from the everyday life of German children and contain a lot of useful vocabulary as well the opportunity to discuss cultural differences.

This book is the beginning of a series and as such a great way for beginners to build up their vocabulary. 

This book series has been turned into an animated TV series which can be legally streamed on the website of German public broadcaster ZDF when the series is being aired on TV. DVDs are available on Amazon.*



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