German Childrens book recommendations?

[dinah]

Hi all,
I'm an american, married to a german, living in america. We're raising our son in german. It's pretty difficult for us to buy german childrens books here and online international shipping is outrageous. I'm planning for an upcoming trip to germany, when I'd like to buy books to last us for the next year (or two).
I'm looking for recommendations for german childrens books or translated english books. My son is 17 months old so board books would be great.
I'd especially like to find some that are "AP". For example, have characters that practice co-sleeping, baby wearing, breastfeeding, etc. I'd also like some that have "politically correct" themes - where the moral or story emphasizes things like culteral diversity, caring for the environment. Lastly, are there any german cultural icons - things that every german child reads, that should be part of his education if he's to fit in with his german cousins?

Thanks for any help you can offer.
diana

[Vicitoria]

Hello!

We are in the same situation but are living here for now. Ds LOVES the Maisy books in german. AP isn't really popular here so I'm not sure about those kinds of childrens books. We went to amazon.de and bought all my husbands favorites from when he was a kid. It wasn't cheap. We also got Sesame Street DVD's in German, Mausi and a few other. You need an internationa dvd player to play them in the US though. Here it's pretty easy. The cheapest dvd player at WalMart (here) plays everything. In the US we had to use our computer DH really liked that though. We have the Muzzy German DVD's too. We purchased them before we moved to Germany. DS likes them but he pretty much watches Germany TV. They have the same PBS kids stuff here in Germany. Books aren't exactly cheap here either so the Amazon prices may not be that bad. The Euro is expensive and it can all add up.

Does your husband have relatives here with older kids? We did get a few books from his brothers kids. ABC's and 123's aren't really taught here until 1st grade so a lot of books are less of a priority.

I hope you find what you are looking for. Enjoy your trip!

[dinah]

Thanks for the hints vicitoria. Unfortunately, my husband didn't really have books as a kid :( so he's not much help on this front. I guess I thought even if AP isn't recognized as a term in germany, there must still be things about breastfeeding or babycarrying or co-sleeping. I know some of the best wraps come from germany. Oh well, maybe someone else will chime in.

[Vicitoria]

I'm kinda surprised someone else hasn't. Holly is usually has GREAT information about everything German. She usually sees or has seen things that I haven't. She's big time AP and very international. I would reccomment just finding a large local bookstore when you get here and take some time to look around. There is a great one here in Dusseldorf that has a great children's section. Many bookstores just have a little of a lot. You may want to check out specialty children's stores as well.

[Hollycrand]

Vicitoria, you flatter me. Big time AP. Wow.

I HAVE been wanting to chime in this week, but it's been a high needs week for both girls, so I'm exhausted. I'll write a thought-out post soon, but any 'Ravensburger' books are usually excellent, though usually non-fiction (about fire engines, dinosaurs...).
In terms of characters, there are a few 'typical' German ones but I'll need to do some asking around. Please stand by...

[RachelD]

Hi. One author you might look for is von Janosch. His books are very popular here for kids, though maybe there are ones your husband had and didn't like:blush . They are not specifically AP or politically correct, but just general sweet and simple stories. Some of his books have also been translated into English and Spanish, which might be nice.

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/340776006X/qid=1151598062/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_11_2/028-0145652-5714166

Good luck,
Rachel

[newbelly2006]

Another favorite is anything from the "Peterson und Findus" series. It's Swedish in origin but much much beloved. The woodcut illustrated version of "peter und der Wolf" is another timeless classic. Let's see, not so AP but very very popular are fairy tale collections. Every German child knows them by heart. There's a former DDR series with a mole ("der maulwurf") that is also key to any child's collection, and any book from "Lizzi, der kleine hexe" series. Also the recently redone kids' version of "Jim Knopf und Lukas der Locomotive" is a favorite in our house.

Both my husband and I are American but our sons are being raised in German here in Berlin. Being as we're both former book editors, books are key in our lives, hence the library before the age of 4. If you visit any local independant bookstore on your trip and ask for the classics, I'm sure you will end up with a wonderful collection. (NAK twins, so please forgive the typos).

Paula

[Hollycrand]

I was going to suggest any of the fairy tales, but BE CAREFUL...some of the original stories aren't the Disney glitzy happy endings that we know.

Here are some more 'typical' books here (at least here in SW Germany):

Bobo Siebenschläfer by Markus Osterwalder
Biene Maja by Waldemar Bonsels
Felix der Hase by Annette Langen
Der Kleine Eisbär by Annette Langen

No idea if these are AP, but they are certainly books typical German kids read.

[behr]

Hi dinah,

I recommend just browsing around the bookstore once you're there and see what you like.

AP and books with a message are not so common in Germany really, as is AP in general. The idea is still that children need to become independend early.
You can try 'Kleiner Rabe' though, who is all about sharing.
Ravensburger books have a nice selection of rhymes and also of Grimm's tales with nice pictures in cardboard book format.
These are the books with the blue corner, and they also offer a nice selection of games.
Carlsen is a pubishing company that offers popular books in paperback format. They introduce certain professions as in "Ich hab einen Freund der ist Muellmann". They have a big selection in two sizes of books called 'Lesemaus'. Great for packing... My dd's love the 'Conny' books.
ANother popular series is from the company Meyer called Die kleine Kinderbibliothek. These are small format books with a certain theme i.e. trees, ladybugs. Really nice books!
Sybille v. Olfers 'Etwas von den Wurzelkindern' is a classic. And that starts the Waldorf area. The publisher Freies Geistesleben is the anthroprosophical publisher. These are just wonderful books. You cna check out the books in purpurshop.de, they are wonderful. We have 'Nachts am Berge tanzen die Zwerge' by Bettina Stietencron, beautiful pictures and short rhymes about the world of dwarfs and gnomes.

Typical, traditional German kids authors are Janosch, Otfried Preussler (Kleine Hexe, Kleiner Wassermann, Raeuber Hotzenplotz), Wilhelm Busch (Max und Moritz are a classic but I don't like the moral too much) , Erich Kaestner , Michael Ende (Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotiffuehrer should be great traditional and fun read for your ds, later you must read 'Momo' and 'Die unendliche Gechichte'!!).
Germans also read a lot of books from Scandinavia. Astrid Lindgren, especially Tomte Tummetott stories should be a delightful winter read for your ds. Later you can read the wonderful 'Karlson vom Dach'. Else Beskow, of course, and I personally love 'Die kleine Hexe' stories by Lieve Baeten.
'Petterson und Findus' by Sven Nordqvist are funny stories with great pictures.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something but my dds are surrounding me chattering about and I can't hear myself think. But I think I have the basics covered.
Can you tell I love books?!

[key_issue]

According to my (American) partner, German children books tend to be more anarchic and less educational than their American counterparts. So I don't know if you will like my suggestion.

Luis Murschnitz "Hamster Radl"
A hamster gets sick of being kept in a cage all the time and starts a revolution which ends in all hamsters rolling out of the city in their wheels and starting a new life

Werner Holzwarth: "Vom kleinen Maulwurf der wissen wollte, wer ihm auf den Kopf gemacht hat"
A mole wakes up to discover someone had taken a dump on his head. He goes around and asks all animals who might have done the deed. Very nice illustrations: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3872947796/028-4534816-6678969?v=glance&n=299956

Matthias Sodtke "Nulli und Priesemuth"
A series about a frog and rabbit and their rather funny adventures

Helme Heine "Ein Freund, ein guter Freund" and "Das Elefanteneinmalseins"

Ali Mitgusch- no text but beautiful pictures a young one can enjoy for hours

Another thing we enjoy very much around here is music by Frederil Vahle. He is PC, yet a lot of his music is older (started in 1973) and probably better suited for older children. "Der Spatz" and "Anne Kaffeekanne" are okay for young kids though. Actually, he is so popular that a lot of people in their 30ies can still sing his songs.

Hope that helped!

[dinah]

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. I'm making a list to take with me to the store when I'm there and I'll check them out then. Looking for Waldorf books sounds like a great idea. I also like the sound of "Hamster Radl" because of the fact that I'm a vegetarian for animal rights reasons.

[EastonsMom]

In the same boat. Let me know what you find becasue I really want to get get alot of books in both Eng and DE so he can see them side by side. Good luck and enjoy your trip!! Wish I was going!

[huggerwocky]

if you buy books at least worth 50 euros ( or dvds or cds) you can get free shipping here.

www.globalbooks.de

Are you in San Diego? We could split an order if so ;-)

[dinah]

"Are you in San Diego? We could split an order if so ;-) "

Sorry, I'm in the SF Bay Area.

[lorijds]

We bought xeveral "Ich bin der kleine...(insert cute little animal here)" I suggest going to the biggest book store you can find when you are there, and just browsing through books.

Our kids watch some Teletubbies in German. It is SOOOOO repetitive and simple, it's great for learning! Boring, hilarious in a very very strange sort of way, but still extremely effective (more so than anything else I've encountered, including professional instruction; my DH is a german teacher, and I've seen alot out there, German language education material is woefully unavailable her).

I know your child is young, but when he is older, one thing that I find helpful is to get a couple of movies in German, movies that your kid loves in English. Then when they watch them in German, they already know what is going on, the gist of the language, and they can pick things up and understand things better.

Good luck!

Lori

[Nithin Baby]

Were can i find German fairy tail books?

[Milk]

Hi Dinah,

a nice children´s book about breastfeeding is "Busi sagte Henriette" by Edith Seitz.
http://www.amazon.de/Busi-sagte-Henriette-Geschichte-Stillen/dp/3934941036/sr=11-1/qid=1163283645/ref=sr_11_1/028-6137883-6098956

[dinah]

Milk -
Cool! Thanks - and welcome to mdc.
dinah.

[Gitti]

Hey look what I found:

http://www.kleinerkindergarten.org/

Anyone live near there?

[zjoerg]

Check out www.sprachhexen.com (http://www.sprachhexen.com). The page is focused on providing ideas and reviews of books, music, teaching material, DVD etc. for raising and teaching bilingual (german speaking) children abroad. Its quite an extensive list of items.

Also you might want to have a look at www.abckinderladen.com (http://www.abckinderladen.com). The US based store offers German Children products - books, software, toys, games etc. While it is certainly not as cheap as in Germany, you can get the items very fast. The selection seems to be reasonably big and reflects many items that are currently popular in Germany. It's really a nice resource.

Hope that helps a little bit.