Ingo Siegner’s Der Kleine Drache Kokosnuss is possibly the number-one most popular series among early elementary kids (as well as older preschoolers). There are 30+ books in this imaginative adventure series following two boy dragons, Kokosnuss and Oscar, and a girl porcupine, Matilda (Siegner’s website). Kokosnuss and his friends will get almost any child excited to read. My son and I own nearly every book and have read them each many times. From age 4-6, the Kokosnuss series were my son’s favorite bedtime books, and when he started reading independently, they were also the first books he reached for. Each book is 65-70 pages, richly illustrated and follows the trio on a new wild adventure. While these are adventure stories, Siegner borrows freely from many genres, from sci-fi to detective fiction. Kokosnuss and his friends visit different planets, go on undersea adventures, and have adventures all around Dragon Island. Another thing I love about the series is that there is a whole world of formats and merchandise. You can find audiobooks, activity books, a TV series, stuffed animals, party decorations and more. I think that’s wonderful, because it allows your child to fully embrace the Kokonuss world and by extension their love of German.
Now to the downsides — I wish Siegner would incorporate more female characters. The ones that are there are equally represented as people with smarts and their own perspectives, but they make up only ~10-20% of roles (aside from Matilda). Also, while one of the biggest draws is that the stories are leavened with a lot of humor, however a lot of the humor relies on cultural clichés. While Siegner often turns those cliches on their heads, there are three titles I do not recommend due to racial/cultural stereotypes (Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss reist um die Welt, Kokosnuss und der chinesische Drache, Kokosnuss bei den Indianern). While I don’t think of the stereotypes as mean-spirited, I still think they can have a negative impact on children’s self image and give the wrong impression about how we talk about other cultures.
In series order, these are the books I recommend and links to their Amazon.com pages:
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss kommt in die Schule — A good introduction to the characters and nice because it sets up their relationships and what their life is like.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss: Hab keine Angst! — An amusing pirate adventure.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und der große Zauberer — Kokosnuss and his friends defeat an evil sorcerer.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und der schwarze Ritter — A fun take on dragons, knights and princesses.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss: Schulfest auf dem Feuerfelsen — Kokosnuss learns to fly with the help of his friends.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und der Schatz im Dschungel — An Indiana-Jones-style adventure through the jungle of Dragon Island.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und das Geheimnis der Mumie — An Indiana-Jones-style adventure, this time in ancient Egypt.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und die starken Wikinger — A bit of a detective adventure mixed in with Vikings.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss auf der Suche nach Atlantis — One of our absolute favorites — the trio adventure to the bottom of the sea.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss im Weltraum — Our other favorite — a hilarious Star-Wars-like space adventure.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss: Schulausflug ins Abenteuer — A school field trip to find an endangered flower species takes many twists and turns.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und der geheimnisvolle Tempel — An Indiana-Jones-style adventure.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss: Vulkan-Alarm auf der Dracheninsel — Another Indiana-Jones-style adventure, this time to stop a volcano from blowing its top on Dragon Island.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und der Zauberschüler — One of the more fairy-tale-influenced stories, where the trio help a young magician.
Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss: Aufregung in der Drachenschule — An Indiana-Jones-style adventure where Kokosnuss and his friends discover an ancient fossil that documents a new species of dragon.
I am also listing the books I thought were okay, but not worth a strong recommendation, so you can get an idea of other topics, in case any would particularly speak to your child: Die schönsten Abenteuer (the first book, short stories, doesn’t really seem like the true Kokosnuss yet), Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und die Wetterhexe, Der klenie Drache Kokosnuss in Australian, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss reist in die Steinzeit, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und das Vampir-Abentuer, Der kleine Drache Kokosnussim Spukschloss, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss bei den Dinosauriern, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss und die Reise zum Nordpol, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss: Expedition auf dem Nil, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss bei den wilder Tieren, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss bei den Römern, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss bei den alten Griechen, Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss in der Tiefsee.
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