My boys and I revisited an old favorite today, Oh, wie schön ist Panama. If you’re not familiar with Janosch’s somewhat silly but ever-so sweet style, you’re in for a treat! The kleiner Tiger and kleiner Bär are just adorable. As a mom I just want to pick them up and squeeze them. They’re so innocent and often impatient in their wants. It makes them easy for kids to relate.
Translation: The little bear cooked the food everyday,
because he was a good cook.
“Would you like the fish with salt and pepper,
Mr. Tiger or rather with lemon and onions?”
Our two young explorers discover a crate floating down the river that has the intoxicating fragrance of bananas. On the crate, the word “Panama” is written and the Tiger and Bear decide that Panama must be the land of their dreams. They resolve to seek out Panama immediately.
Translation:
“And we must take my fishing pool along,” said the little Bear,
“because whoever has a fishing pool, always has fish.
And whoever has fish will not go hungry…”
“And whoever doesn’t get hungry,” said the little Tiger,
“doesn’t need to be afraid of anything. True, Bear?”
What words of wisdom! If we could all only have such simple needs.
So do they find Panama, the land of their dreams? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out. But I will promise you they have lots of adventures along the way and the ending is a happy one.
Consider buying the Janosch CD (contains 4 stories) and reading along. The narrator, Siegfried Wischnewski, is fantastic, and the musical interludes really set the tone for the story. It’s a great CD for the car.
Oh, wie schön ist Panama
Age recommendation: Ages 4-8
Fluency recommendation: Intermediate – advanced. The book is quite long and some of the text is complicated, but the pictures are charming and if you read it a few times, your kids will adore it.
My kids are taking swimming lessons this week.
Up until yesterday, my 6 year old, Max, hasn’t been willing to go underwater. He thought it would be too hard, he might not be able to get back to the surface again and he was worried that he might swallow water accidentally. Basically, he was scared. I told him that the more he did it the easier it would become. He finally gathered up his courage yesterday and put his face in. Would you believe that after three reluctant dunks (no, I didn’t push him!), he has decided going under is the most fun ever?! Today in the pool, he was a total fish.
What do swimming lessons have to do with reading in German?
If your child is a bit reluctant to read in German or listen to you read books in German, he probably just needs more practice with books that are geared to his level. He needs experience to see that he can do it and that it can be fun. And sometimes kids need a bit of an incentive to help them get started.
To help out, we’re offering you two free downloads:
 Ein Buchbericht (book report)
My friend, Thea Fortune, has developed this short fill-in-the blank book report that your child can use for a little more structure for summer reading. Thanks, Thea!
 Ein Leselogbuch (reading log)
A place to keep track of the German books your child reads over the summer. You’d be amazed at what a little list will do for motivation. Post it on your refrigerator and watch the page magically fill itself up! You might also decide to promise a reward for completing a certain number of books.
So if you’ve been wondering how to encourage a little extra reading practice auf Deutsch this summer, why not give our downloads a try?
My Max certainly benefited from his extra practice. Your child might too.
Announcing our latest E-book!
If you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, you already know that we’ve just released our latest e-book, Parenting auf Deutsch – German Phrases for Parents in Bilingual Families. If you’re not, read on to find out how to get your free copy.
Parenting auf Deutsch is the answer to your requests for more German phrases.
I actually wrote this with myself in mind – that is, myself 10 years ago, when I was a new mom. At that time, I only knew conversational and adult level German. I didn’t know all the little phrases you use when speaking to your child that come so naturally in your native language. This book would have been so useful to me back then – I hope you find it useful now!
Only authentic German
I find that I often use our own family’s pet words and phrases when speaking with my kids in German. This is especially true in bilingual families where a lot of switching between English and German goes on and you develop your own family words – things a stranger wouldn’t understand.
There’s nothing wrong with this kind of speech – in fact it helps strengthen your children’s attachment to the language if they can have a little fun with it. But I don’t want to pass this along to you and have you think that it’s proper German. That’s why I wrote this book with the help of a few native speakers currently living in Germany. You can be confident that you’re using authentic German when you use these phrases.
How to get your own copy.
If you’d like your own copy of Parenting auf Deutsch, a $8.95 value, all you have to do is subscribe to our newsletter. Just click on the book cover below and you’ll be taken to the subscribe page. If you’re already subscribed and you didn’t download your copy yet, you can fill out the subscribe form again and you’ll have another chance to download.
 Subscribe and get your free copy here.
I hope you enjoy this latest e-book from Alphabet Garten. I had a lot of fun putting it together! And please do let me know what you think about it.
Congratulations to the following winners of our free book giveaway in the launch of our new e-book, Parenting auf Deutsch (more about this shortly).
Boris Deunert, Melissa Brandt, Rebecca Bluemel, Martina, Kristin, Lauren, Jason Adams, Marion Aitcheson, Birgit Anderson, Jennifer Faber, Gordon Carson, Veronica Dzugan, Jeri,Angela Jostlein, and Scott. The winners have all been notified by e-mail.
Each winner will receive a copy of Lilli tauscht ihr Pausenbrot – Lesemaus zum Lesenlernen (Level 2).
Congratulations, everyone, and thanks to all who’ve subscribed to our newsletter!
Gigi Swenson is a co-founder of Music Lingua, a company which provides language lessons for young children in German, French, and Spanish. I spoke with her the other day about the exciting things happening in her music classes.
 Gigi is full of great information about how young kids learn language and how you can expose them to a second language with great results. Take a listen…
This is a 64 page (large font) self empowerment story of a little boy interacting with a little (imagined) dragon who brings him on the right track – motivating him to climb, draw, read and eat less. He changes from being the overweight victim of a classmate’s mockery (or mild bullying, if you want) at the beginning of the story to a self confident boy.
I am not sure whether this story works for children who are actually marginalized and lack confidence, but it is certainly a good thing for any child to see the world from Hanno’s perspective. The text is in simple prose and the vocabulary basic, but well written and certainly accommodates the beginning reader.
I read it to (and partially with) my 2 daughters (5 and 7 years old), and they felt with Hanno and his interesting little companion.
Hanno malt sich einen Drachen
Age recommendation: Ages 5-7
Fluency recommendation: Intermediate-Advanced
Review by: Roland Brilla
Are you looking for a fun way to include some structured German in your summer activities?
| Do you want to use the summer to help your kids improve their German vocabulary and comprehension? Then why not book a Trip to Germany? No, not a real trip; this is a trip you take from the comfort of your own home with the help of some great books and lesson plans.
We’ve found that children learn best when they are pursuing activities which are meaningful to them.
Give them a vocabulary worksheet and their eyes glaze over; however, if you tell kids they’re going to hold a pretend birthday party in German, they instantly come alive! Suddenly speaking German is meaningful and fun!
Plus, the lessons they learn will stick with them so much better than route book learning.
When using the new material in context, children will proceed twice as fast with just half the effort. They won’t even realize they’re learning.
What can you learn on our Trips to Germany? How about:
- How to read in German
- German customs and culture
- Airport travel
- German geography and national symbols
… and much more.
Our Trip to Germany unit studies are easy for parents.
Our lesson plans set the stage for each topic. Parents and kids can work through the lessons and activities together. Real German children’s books (not school books which tend to be not nearly as enthralling) are used throughout the lessons to give you a chance to snuggle up with your child and enjoy a good story. The books and materials have been carefully chosen to be colorful, fun and entertaining while not being too challenging for the beginning German speaker.
You don’t even have to speak much German yourself.
You can learn right along with your child. All instructions are in English. It is recommended that you have an understanding of pronunciation or access to someone who can help with pronunciation of difficult words.
A Trip to Germany Themes and Topics
(If you click away to the detail pages, make sure to come back to the bottom of this page for the free shipping coupon).
Take a look at these lists of topics and I think you’ll see how much fun it can be to explore them with your children!
Unit 1 – Getting to Germany.
German geography and national symbols
Passports
Phrases for travelers
Packing
Airports
Travel across time zones and telling time
Trip plans
Days of the week and months of the year
Unit 2 – Visiting in Germany.
Introductions
Talking to strangers
Weather
Eating at Oma’s house
Folk songs
Story-telling with the Bremer Stadtmusikanten
Map skills and geography
Berlin
Unit 3 – Communicating with loved ones.
Learning to read in German
Writing letters
Weather
Birthdays
FREE Shipping until May 6.
To celebrate the launch of Unit 3, we’re offering free shipping (USA only) on all of the Trip to Germany units and associated materials.
Coupon code: MAYTRIP
What: Free Standard Shipping (USA only)
Expires: Midnight May 6.
View more details on each unit including sample pages:
From $67
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From $67
|
From $49
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Ich wünsche eine schöne Reise! (Have a great trip!) |
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Emma wohnt by Jutta Bauer was my first read of the Emma series, so to my surprise the first thought that came to mind was “different”. I soon grew to appreciate the child’s perspective of the story and the illustrations. Emma is in a grown up’s world and everything in each room is bigger than she is. To a tired child, climbing a long staircase would be like climbing a mountain!
“Uff! Ist diese Treppe hoch! Warte noch, ich schaffe es noch!
Translation: “Whew! These stairs are high! Just wait, I can do it.”
Outside is dreary and inside isn’t much better. As she looks forward to the cheery morning, we follow Emma as she does everyday tasks around her house from the kitchen to the bathroom. We learn a few good words along the way too! Geared toward young toddlers who are learning to be independent, she also totes a little bear with her in a few pages.
The illustrations are basic with pops of bright red in each picture. The text is AABB, so it’s easy for parents and children to read together. A winner of the Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis, it is a great addition to the library.
Emma wohnt
Age recommendation: Baby-3
Fluency recommendation: Beginner
Review by: Rebecca Bluemel
Leon und die wilden Ritter
When you get to the last page of a book and your listeners regret that there’s not another chapter to come, the author has achieved success! In fact, at the request of my 6-year-old, I’ve started rereading from the beginning, and he’s just as attentive this second time around.
We used the chapters as bedtime reading. My boys (ages 6 and 10) were drawn in from the very first pages. Poachers, knights, swords, mistaken identity, a great escape… these are the ingredients of adventure! And, my 10-year-old smiled broadly at learning that main character Leon was just about his own age.
Sounds like the perfect book for boys, right? Well, if you’re considering this book for a girl, you’re in luck! I won’t give away who she is, but a certain 9-year-old Heldin saves the day more than once.
Once of the first things I noticed when I picked up this book was the line Unterrichtsmaterial zum kostenlosen Download, discretely printed on the back cover along with a URL for Lehrer. We homeschool bilingually in German and English, and I’m always on the lookout for German-language support materials. I downloaded the study guide right away for use with my older son, who is in his fourth grade year. His spoken German is very good, but his German-language reading and writing skills lag a year or two behind. The written study guide exercises were at a perfect level for him – they posed a healthy challenge, and led us to some nice discussion about elements found in the story.
Though I read the entire book to both children, I also asked my fourth-grader to read some segments on his own. There were a few unfamiliar words for him, but in general, he had no problem working through his chapters. I welcome those unfamiliar words, as they are an opportunity for him to learn new vocabulary!
In short, Leon und die wilden Ritter gets two thumbs up from us!
Leon und die wilden Ritter
Age recommendation: Ages 6 to 10
Fluency recommendation: Intermediate/Advanced. Aimed at native speakers in the 2nd/3rd grade, but the story is enjoyable for upper-elementary students as well. Large print and and many colorful illustrations ease reading.
Submitted by: Truffula
We have several other Lesemaus titles. I have been impressed by how well-researched and -written they are. Wir entdecken das Hotel is no exception.
This book describes a trip taken by Familie Lohman. That story itself contains all manner of great information about hotels. In addition, thoughtfully-selected “sidebars” present other interesting and very timely aspects of hotels and restaurants. For example, the section on Speisekarten mentions that computers — instead of waiters’ notebooks or memories — are now often used to capture restaurant patrons’ orders. This was actually the subject of an article in our newspaper recently! I personally appreciated the sidebar titled Die Sache mit den Handtüchern. It gives a tutorial on how to place your towels as code to the hotel staff to let them know that you do, or do not, want fresh ones. That’s a nice reminder and tip for keeping the environment in mind when you’re away from home.
 We received our review copy of this book with perfect timing, just before my older son and I left for a weekend trip that had us staying in… a hotel (with a German-speaking group, no less)! We were able to see how our hotel was the same as, and different from, the one visted by the Lohmans. The hallway in ours looked just like the one shown in the book, right down to the Fluchtwegschilder on the walls, and the Brauseköpfe on the ceiling. We witnessed the wonders of the Heinzelmännchen Reinigungspersonal who made our beds while we were out.
My son was disappointed that our Schwimmbad was closed. Then again, it was winter! On the bright side, our hotel was right next to the beach (though that loses a little appeal when it’s just above freezing and the wind is blowing!).
And, oh, the book’s description of das Frühstückstücksbüffet! Both of my boys perked up when they saw the illustration of buffet tables laden with goodies of all sorts. We went through each of the food labels one-by-one — I could just see them loading up breakfast plates in their minds!
Here’s another reason I like Sachgeschichten from Lesemaus books – they appeal to my children, with the bonus of introducing me to subject-specific words that are not used in day-to-day conversational German. My German is very-near-native, but I don’t often talk about hotels and restaurants. Now, I have some new vocabulary words. In fact, my son and I were able to put them to immediate use during our trip!
Wir entdecken das Hotel
Age recommendation: Ages 8-10. My 6-year-old listened politely, while my 9-year-old engaged more fully, asking questions, and comparing what the book explained with his own experiences.
Fluency recommendation: Advanced
Submitted by Truffula
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