LUSTIG! - Our Top 7 Children's Books in German - (part 2: beginning readers and chapter books)
April is National Humor Month! Its aim is to make people aware that laughing helps to cope with stress and stay healthy. Or as we say in German: Lachen ist gesund.
According to research of Stiftung Lesen, kids love books that are funny. If your child is a reluctant reader - or reluctant to listen to German books - these super funny books for children 6-10 years might suddenly have him glued to the book or ask you to read him some more.
Sarah Welk
ICH UND MEINE CHAOS-BRÜDER
ALARMSTUFE UMZUG
Sarah Welk is one of my older sons favorite authors - all her books have a lively, turbulent element to them and some family dynamics that make a truly fun read. This series is all about three brothers, told from the perspective of the middle one called Bela, who gets a little annoyed sometimes at his older brother who pretends to know everything and more annoyed at his little brother who keeps snatching away his monsters from his collection and worse breaks them. It's made even worse by the fact he has to share the room with the little 5 year old. But then Bela on his way to buy a substitute monster sees a little hang out for the perfect apartment. And since his parents somehow always botch up the the apartment hunting, he decides the kids will take over. Each one of them has their own ideas, so things get a little out of hand.
7 years and up (read aloud and slightly advanced beginning reader)
Timo Parvela
ELLA IN DER SCHULE
(Vol. 1)
My son cracked up with laughter when I read this series to him, he made me reread the funniest paragraphs several times in a row.
Timo Parvela was a teacher before he started writing books. ELLA IN DER SCHULE is the first part of a series all about Ella and her friends and class mates that have kids in Finland and Germany laughing for for more than 10 years now.
The star is probably Pekka, the son of the headmistress, who has a hard time to grasp things and a talent to end up in weird situations - but there is the girl Ella and all the others: a know-all, a cry-baby and many more
6 years and up.
Marc-Uwe Kling
DER TAG, AN DEM DIE OMA DAS INTERNET KAPUTT GEMACHT HAT
Tiffany goes to pre-school and has a school break, so her grand-mother comes to stay and look after her and the older siblings, 10 year old Max and 14 year old Luise. Tiffany though things she is looking after her grand-mother. And she feels she failed, because her grand-mother breaks the internet. Nobody can do anything anymore: her grand-mother can't do on the www what she wanted to, Max can't send any whatsapp message to his friends anymore and Luisa can't stream her Punk museum. The parents can't work...
Short and funny, exaggerated but also with some truth to it, a novel that works for the whole family.
7 years and up
Rüdiger Bertram
GEGEN UNS KÖNNT IHR NICHT ANSTINKEN
Zora is turning ten and hopes she will finally get a mobile phone. Or the dog, that she has been pinning hopes to for ages. But when she wakes up there is a skunk - wo eats up her birthday cake! Her father explains that it is a special gift that runs in the family. Some get cool animals - her father has a polar bear. Zora has Dieter, the skunk: a magical animal that will from now on be following her wherever she goes.
Situational humor and great dialogues make this book fun, while tackling topics like friendship and mobbing.
8 years and up.
Andreas Steinhöfel
DIRK UND ICH
Andreas and his six-year old brother always end up in crazy situations. Whether they go sledging and land in a pond, meet up with other kids for a birthday party and start discussing whether Jesus was a boy or girl or on Nikolaustag. And even more so, once their little baby brother Björn is born.
Told in a simple language, close to that of children, Andreas Steinhöfel retells stories from his own childhood in the 70ies. Nowadays children probably are more protected - still: these stories are a good laugh and show the special bond that siblings have.
7 years and up.
Erhard Dietl
DIE OLCHIS FLIEGEN ZUM MOND
The Olchis are on a trip to New York with their aunt when they learn of a secret mission: the delicious garbage wasts are all going to be shot up to the moon with a rocket.The Olchis love garbage, so they stow away on the rocket.
Die Olchis are a big hit with beginning readers in Germany.
Each volume reader is a suspenseful and ingenious adventure story combined with some bathroom humor kids find hilarious.
For 7 years and up.
Sabine Zett / Zapf
COLLINS GEHEIMER CHANNEL
- WIE ICH ENDLICH COOL WURDE (Bd.1)
13 year old Collins wants to be popular, but can't work out,
why he isn't noticed too much by his classmates, and in particular by the girls. So he decides he has to change something about that: he will be a you tuber. His best friend agrees to help, filming.
A you tuber with funny films. And to his surprise everybody loves his youtube channel - the boys and the girls, even his enemy Dracula. Will he manage to stay popular?
A comic novel, fun and easy read, perfect for the reluctant bilingual reader.
10 years and up
