Lesser known in the English-speaking world is the children’s book Max and Moritz (A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks), originally titled Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen. And, last but not least, it is a beautiful story that will warm your heart. If your curiosity is piqued and you are up for some listening practice here is an audio version. 3. “Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten”(The Bremen Town Musicians) Chapter 12: Melinda Nadj Abonji and Jurczok 1001: Performance, Politics, and Poetry - Rafaël Newman and Caroline Wiedmer They improve your writing skills. There is nothing as good for writing as imitation and great writers stimulate imitation. You will often want to emulate powerful writing and reading short stories will lead to your appropriating of new grammar structures and elements, which you can then use in your own text production. They’re brief. Short stories are suitable because, unlike novels and longer texts, they can often be read in one sitting. Because of the directness and accessibility of language used in many German short stories, your reading comprehension can dramatically increase.

Also machten sich der Bauer und sein Sohn mit dem Esel auf den Weg, um ihn zu einem guten Preis zu verkaufen. Der Vater dachte: „Wenn wir den Esel reiten, wird er müde, sobald er die Stadt erreicht. Wenn der Esel müde aussieht, wird ihn niemand kaufen und ich werde wie ein Idiot aussehen. “ His first book, Russian Disco, is a series of short autobiographical essays about life in Berlin just after the fall of the Berlin Wall.If you have an interest in poetry, start with a dual-language book that features the poems of many renowned German poets, alongside the English translations. Nach einiger Zeit sahen sie ein paar weitere Reisende, die die Straße entlang gingen. Sie sagten: „Was für Dummköpfe! Der Sohn reitet auf dem Esel und sein armer Vater geht zu Fuß. Der Esel kann natürlich beide tragen. Der dümmste unter den dreien ist vielleicht nicht der Esel. “ The story is a great tool for learning simple conversational German, as it features a lot of dialogues and it is also good to learn how to structure paragraphs based on cause and effect using words like denn (because), als (as) and endlich (finally), among many others.

They teach you vocabulary and slang. Some of the more lively aspects of German—like usage, slang and popular phrases—can often come alive in powerful short fiction pieces. Stories that focus on certain topics and locations function really well as vocabulary units—as interesting words and phrases are presented in an exciting context. Es gab einmal eine Lerche, die auf den Weizenfeldern lebte. Das Weizenfeld war sehr jung und die Lerche baute ein Nest und legte drei Eier. Enjoyable reading practice specifically designed for your level (beginner or intermediate) so can spend your time with the story instead of with your head in a dictionary. You won't only find fairy tales and classic tales in the book, but stories that are relatable to the real world. Language teachers often tell me how much they enjoy using these stories in their lessons because they make learning fun and minimise all those hours of stressful lesson prep. Household Stories, From the Collection of the Bros. Grimm (this edition first published 1886), by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, trans. by Lucy Crane, illust. by Walter Crane (Gutenberg text and illustrated HTML)

Use this book as a resource for German reading practice, as well as a direct account of what life was like during one of the most exciting and rapidly changing times in modern German history. German Children’s Stories

This story has been translated into 160 languages, and there is a reason for this. It is a poetic fantasy about a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster, who are no longer useful to their masters.Der Vater war sehr wütend und bat seinen Sohn, auf den Esel zu steigen. Er sagte: „Niemand sollte sagen, dass ich ein Dummkopf bin. Mein Sohn und ich sollen zusammen den Esel reiten In addition, quite a few unique words expand your knowledge of the language, such as außerordentlich (exceptionally), Kornfelder (cornfields) and Kammerjungfer (maid). 9. “Das Bettelweib von Locarno” (The Beggar Woman of Locarno) Am frühen Morgen schlugen die kleinen Vögelchen mit den Flügeln, so hart und so schnell sie konnten. Bis zum Nachmittag hatten der Bauer und sein Sohn das gesamte Feld geerntet und ein leeres Nest auf dem Boden gefunden. In a previous post about reading simple German short stories for beginners I’ve showcased a handful of literary short stories, mostly from post-war times which are interesting enough but not too difficult for beginners. However, even these required a certain level of German to make sense of. They also boost oral skills. This one might surprise you but here’s how they can help your speaking: Stories often feature real-life dialogues, which will introduce you to a variety of colloquial expressions and speaking mannerisms. Many of these stories will also bring up topics that have the potential for controversy. Bring up the story with a language partner and talk about your opinions and feelings on the matter!

The Girl from the Marsh Croft (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1910), by Selma Lagerlöf, trans. by Velma Swanston Howard (HTML at Celebration of Women Writers) We’ll take you through our list of nine easy German short stories, the benefits of reading them, as well as tips and where to find them so you can start reading today! If you enjoy reading novels in your native language, you have an excellent opportunity to transform passive time into active time! Read Translations of Books You Already Know

The Greedy Dog, by Erasmus Alberus (And Tons Of Other Stories)

They offer an insight into politics, current affairs, sports and culture. They’re also written in Standard German, making them accessible even for those at the early stages of learning German. German News in Simple Language Project Gutenberg — This is a German language version of the famous Project Gutenberg. It features a comprehensive German library, including works by the most important German authors and German translations of other language classics. The Baumgartner & Momsen series of 5 short stories follow a crime-fighting duo of police officers as they investigate each fascinating and unique case that comes their way. Each book has a self contained plot, so you can choose to read either one book or the whole collection.