Learning German Through Storytelling: Heidis Frühstück - A Detective Story for German Language Learners: For Intermediate and Advanced Students: Baumgartner & Momsen Mystery, Book 5

Every thing offered by the short stories in German, in Mr.Klein's books, is very useful for the person who desires to learn the german language in an easy way, that is, by reading simple and uncomplicated german sentences..Nevertheless, I feel that the program is not perfect, because of a lack of a german speaker, reading the lessons.The Student, after having read the charpter and having understood the english translation at the end of the chapter, needsto have an idea of how the word, words, or sentences should be pronounced. Presently, this is not done at all by the course.The english translation of the difficult words and sentences, at the end of every chapter, is very useful .But the chapters could be perfect, if a german voice reading the selected words and sentences, were to be added to eachchapter. Then the question of how to pronounce the new text, would be resolved on the spot. The student needs this kindof feedback to build up his/her confidence.Otherwise, Herr Klein has done a very good job of teaching the German Language to the new students.I just would like it to be PERFECT! ...(my own definition of Perfection) - Roger Y.Merino - a greatful reader and student.

I really appreciate Andre for helping us with stories that are interesting to Adults while trying to learn more than "just the basics". Because it's a book about a crime, there are many words that I'll probably never need, but I do think that watching the Krimi shows in Germany are one of the best ways to "get into the language." This is a great step towards getting ready for that. So, while I had to look up a LOT of words to read this story, Andre does a great job of give the translations at the end of each chapter. I'm wondering if you, Andre, might consider writing an "everyday" story about a family and the daily life (with something intriguing added) to give us a chance to read the "everyday" language. On this note, I like the short "novels" you've written and I've downloaded most of them.

I've enjoyed this entire series, of which this is the latest book. As I have worked through the books, I've found that I can read longer passages in German without reference to the dictionary. When I started the first of Klein's books, it seemed that I had to look up almost every word. As I progressed, though I had to look up fewer and fewer.The author recommends just reading straight through a passage, skipping over unknown words, trying to get a feel for the overall meaning. Obviously, this works better the larger one's German vocabulary is.When the dictionary is needed, though, the Kindle Paperwhite really shines. I installed "PONS Advanced German -> English Dictionary" (which I recommend), and touching a German word in the text brings up the English definition. Much faster than thumbing through a paper dictionary. This is not specific to the André Klein books, it works for any German text. It is specific to the Kindle Paperwhite, though; it doesn't work on Kindle Fire.

This series of books hits the sweet spot for people learning to read German. The author tells complicated stories in such a way that you are able to read and understand new words and phrases in context, almost like magic.Language learning is difficult, and no single book can teach everything about a new language effortlessy, but these books come as close to effortless learning as anything can. The stories are well written and interesting, and you will be reading and understanding them immediately.These books are well worth the price.

A lighthearted mystery without any extra annoying baggage as is typical in many other German language books I've had. Vocabulary is introduced organically and repeated in a variety of contexts. I feel the author made an effort to isolate select words in each chapter, as well as more general words throughout each chapter. It just flows very purposefully. Recommend using the book with the Amazon kindle to take advantage of the translation feature - so you don't need to keep notes with you

Read all the books from André Klein on this collection.They are excellent for learning German.Features the same main characters that are in the other stories and the style of the story is the same.Liked more the other stories maybe because there is not much new things here and become a little bored.Anyway, highly recommended for learning and expect more stories in the future (with maybe more action and humor).

This book, along with the other four in the series, has been a great help in my self study of German. I have read it and three of the other five, and am nearly finished with the last, Die Dritte Hand. I have really enjoyed this book and the other four in the series.

I love this series and will buy each and every one that comes out as soon as possible. I am trying to learn German as it was the language of several of my grandparents and great grandparents. I am totally out of my realm with languages and this series fits my needs perfectly. They help me add to my base vocabulary and I do not get lost in the story like I do with some dual language books. I really like this story

I love all of the Baumgartner & Momsen books by André Klein.I bought the entire series for my boyfriend so he can practice his German; I had him first read a chapter aloud and then translate it sentence by sentence. We skipped the tests as I was focussing him on getting used to speaking and translating, but from a glance they were concentrating on useful parts of understanding the story correctly and getting the grammar right.Storytelling:The stories are compelling and really funny, the characters and cases would not be out of place in a Tatort episode. Both of us really enjoyed reading about Baumgartners antics, and the stories touch on very German parts of life that gave me a great opportunity to explain some everyday aspects about German culture.Language:The dialogue is written the way real Germans would actually talk to each other, with appropriate colloquialisms and realistic responses. The chapters are a good length as well.The level of writing is definitely advanced, especially because of the colloquialisms, but not too complicated. For all learners I would recommend to have a native German speaker on hand to explain some quirks of the German language or culture – for example the Germans make extensive use of filler words that can be quite confusing for English speakers.Some quite specific words that I would have expected to be in the vocabulary lists were not included, but of course these days with a smartphone on hand you can always have an additional dictionary ready.Verdict:Absolutely worth every penny. Great way to learn some real German.

The only problem I have with this book, which is overall good, is that all the language is in präteritum past tense instead of the usual past perfect that you hear in speech. So it's not really improving my German grammar that way I hoped it would. It has, however, improved my vocabulary a lot.I would love to see a series where it was all interviews in simple Deutsch, for instance, so that the spoken form is preserved. Maybe there is one?

I have read the first book, Cafe in Berlin, and really loved it! In fact our German class is now going to study it in a new session, as we are going nowhere this year because of CoVid19. These books will help you learn lots of new words in context, the best way for remembering them.

My students love the whole series. We are hoping a new one will come out soon. They are easy to read, have nice plots and some humour in them and have some help with the vocab.

Fabulous series of books for the intermediate German learner. These crime stories are interesting and the main characters display a good sense of dry humour and subtle sarcasm (who ever said that Germans don't have a sense of humour?!). The writing style is current and contains an excellent amount of vocabulary and phrases. As well as a vocabulary section there is also a comprehension part to ensure that the reader has managed to keep up with the storyline. All of Andre Klein's books are highly recommendable!