Category: Elementary Spotlight
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Sabine Städing’s Petronella Apfelmus is an engaging, but gentle series for kindergarten through elementary school (~4-9). My son was an early reader and I could comfortably hand him the books without worrying that the story lines might be scary or otherwise too mature. At the same time, it’s a wonderfully funny series with lots of fun…
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Margit Auer’s Die Schule der magischen Tiere is a popular series for elementary-age kids (8-12) and works well as either a read aloud book for families or something for kids to discover on their own. It follows a class of children who each receive a magical, speaking animal to be their pet and partner on…
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This four-book STEM-focused series by Kati Naumann is a lot of fun for 7- to 9-year-olds who are reading independently but still enjoy short chapters and illustrations. The story is told in a diary format is similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Big Nate series, which make it stand out among German kids literature. Egon,…
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We recently came across this fun middle grade series, Bitte nicht öffnen! by Charlotte Habersack that is perfect for 8 to 12-year-olds who love adventure and humor. The 12-book series revolves around a ten-year-old boy named Nemo, who lives in a small, dull town called Boring. One day an unusual package arrives on his doorstep,…
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If you have an elementary-aged kid who reads German well, but is maybe not 100% fluent, I’d give the 2025 Ampelchen series by Anna Böhm a try. So far there are three books — Aus den Ampeln, fertig, los! (1), Es kracht! (2), and Kann das weg? (3). The series follows the adventures of two fourth-graders, Clärchen and…
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Below I introduce a few of our favorite shows for elementary school aged kids and link to their official YouTube channels. Many children still enjoy the shows I highlighted for preschoolers, so check those out even if your kid is a bit older, as well as this page on where to access German-language video content.…
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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…
