Learn German with Stories: Dino lernt Deutsch - Simple Short Stories for Beginners

by André Klein

This collector's edition comprises the first four episodes of the "Dino lernt Deutsch" story series for German "Café in Berlin", "Ferien in Frankfurt", "Karneval in Köln" and "Momente in München".Lured by the promise of endless possibilities, Dino, a young man from Sicily tries to make a new home in Germany. Equipped only with an intense curiosity and a knack for meeting new people, he's eager to delve into local customs and cuisine, if there only wasn't this pesky business of learning German ...Follow Dino on his adventures through the German city landscape, experience daily life in Germany through the eyes of a newcomer, learn about the country and its people, and improve your German effortlessly along the way!

Genres: German Literature, Language

351 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2015

About the author

André Klein was born in Germany, grew up in Sweden and Thailand and currently lives in Israel. He has been teaching languages for more than 15 years and is the author of short stories, picture books and non-fiction works in English and German.

Reviews

[Mitch Cloke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I've read a book in German! Alright I'll admit it is aimed at beginners but I could read most of it fluently enough to enjoy it. #feelsgoodman

[Alain Lapierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lire un roman en allemand n‘est pas une mince tâche lorsqu‘on est de niveau B1. Sans une certaine fluidité de lecture, je me décourage trop vite à chercher plusieurs mots par paragraphe. Ces romans de Andre Klein présentent une solution vraiment l‘fun. La fluidité est bonne et un minimum de recherches de mots, qui de toute façon sont traduits en anglais à la fin des courts chapitres. Vraiment bien fait.

[Alexa Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one way to experiment a little bit more the German way, it is fun To discover german by reading at your own rythm. A1-A2 level. classes+watching series or movies+ reading stories, what a Nice full combination. I wished all of this exister 35 years ago....

[Paola Villegas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for people that are leaning German and want to learn about the culture in a very fun way!

[Kornelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pierwsza książka po niemiecku :))

[Sam Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mein erstes Buch auf Deutsch! Ich mag die Wörterbank nach jedem Kapitel

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this out to read with my twin 8 year olds, in preparation for our move to Germany. It started out perfect, it was ahead of our beginner level but with easy-to-use glossary, fun Q & A at the end of each section, and answer keys; the story, I thought, was about Dino an Italian boy who had just moved to Germany and was living in an apartment building also inhabited by an American boy, and a Chinese boy... it seemed strange how little their parents factored into the plot... but then there were empty beer cans lying around, and Dino was trying out pick-up lines! So no yeah, this book is too old for my kids and too young for me but still was an entertaining introduction to written German, and Berlin as well as Bavaria.

[Gus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stuff. I started reading this about two years ago, right when I started learning German. The stories are so well written that I could easily go along, even with an A1 German. It really makes you feel empowered and motivated to keep going. The introduction of new terms is well spaced and the stories are short enough that you can always feel like you're making progress.

I recently picked this up again, now my German is a lot better and I was able to breeze through the stories quite quickly, which was also a great feeling.

Definitely recommended for the most basic beginners up until B1-B2 level. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to find out more about Dino's journey.

This is what language-learning material should be like.

[Nathan West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insane bargain for the amount of learning I got

This was actually my first ever book in German that I've read. There's dozens of extremely common words in German that you think you know that you actually don't, such as immer, doch, or schon. The only way to learn words like these is to see them in context hundreds of times. This book also helped me to get a grasp of the German sentence structure.

The author recently released a second compilation that contains books 5 thru 8. I plan to read through all those too.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for German learning beginners!

This book is great for German beginners who have begun to learn the language. I began reading it after my first semester taking german in university. The stories are interesting and are a great way to practice reading it and learn other vocabulary through context. There is a helpful glossary for uncommon words used in the text and the stories increase in difficulty as you read. I would recommend this book to other German learning students.

[Sarah Kilbane]

Very good if you want to immerse yourself in German that is not too difficult. Recommend for learners

[Nhung Qnk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr gute Serien zum Deutschlernen. Am Anfang war es ganz einfach aber es ist schwerer geworden. Die Handlung ist, ehrlich gesagt, manchmal komisch. Doch ist es hilfreich, um Vokabulare von verschiedenen Themen kennenzulernen. Sehr empfehlenswert!

[Claudiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

A well-written book with very concise and easy to read sentences which really help you build your vocabulary and give you a taste of how a local would be talking.

[Dwayne Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for advanced beginners

This is a great set of stories to begin learning German. They are interesting and challenge your vocabulary and understanding just enough.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable stories that are perfect for learners of German!

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best introduction to short stories in German that you're going to find. The short works of Wolfgang Borchert have a concision and clarity to rival the chapters in "Dino lernt Deutsch," but the content in Borchert is a bit of a downer (unless your students are keen to read about the eating habits of scavenging rats in post- World War II Germany).

"Dino" guides the reader through a series of warmly humorous episodes involving the adventures and travails of a young Italian lad abroad in Germany. He works as a factotum in a Bavarian film studio (where he gets kicked out of the eponymous boat of "Das Boot," after using its berth to sleep during his shift); he takes a job in Cologne babysitting a Saint Bernard, only to accidentally let the beast get drunk during Karneval. I could go on, but why spoil it?

Each of the stories is followed by a series of questions that test the reader's comprehension of the content, and their vocabulary. These post-story sections aren't lengthy quizzes that belabor the student, and are perfectly written to maximize the reader's retention of both conversational and written German.

This is an excellent aid, unlikely to bore even the most recalcitrant German learner. And even if you're already fluent in German, the charms of "Dino" mean that reading it straight through will not be a waste of your time. I have an MA in Germanistik and even I picked up a couple bits of colloquial slang I hadn't before encountered. Highest recommendation.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precioso libro para practicar la lectura en Alemán. Fue fascinante comenzar a leer páginas enteras de manera fluida. ¡Ya sé que es un libro para principiantes! Sin embargo, motiva mucho ver el propio progreso y saber que cada vez se va haciendo más prescindible la traducción. ¿Se podría decir que he comenzado a pensar más en Alemán? No lo sé, pero lo termino con una linda sensación de cariño.

Tiene palabras muy locales según la ciudad y te cuenta -muy a grandes rasgos- sobre la historia y cotidianidad de cada lugar.

Seguiré más libros suyos ❤️🇦🇹

[Tim Daughters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't great literature, but it is a great way to learn German. The chapters are short and largely comprehensible for beginning German readers. Each chapter is followed by a list of new vocabulary used in the chapter and a short quiz.
I found the stories to be quite engaging. I learned a little something about several cities in Germany. The best thing about these stories is that they make language learning fun! Every day I looked forward to learning about Dino's exploits while passively improving my German skills. I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a learning tool I thought this was pretty phenomenal. The stories build on each other perfectly, and very rarely did I need to consult translations outside of what was provided for each chapter. I liked that the stories themselves used regional slang and gave a feel for what made each place special and unique. I recommend it to anyone with a foundation in German looking for extra practice.

[Wiliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

It's a great book for those wanting to improve on reading german. It has a bunch of interesting german sayings and tells you about the german culture and certain cities.
The story Isn't something special, but I don't think that the point is to tell a great story, but to get you more familiar with german language and culture.

[Steven Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an enjoyable way of increasing your German vocabulary without too much effort. The story is a bit thin as it follows an Italian man named Dino as he moves around experiences some german cities and events (Köln Karneval, Oktoberfest...Frankfurt). Not much of a conclusion or anything though. it sort of just ends.

[Ethan M. Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give this series a ten if I could. Out of all the secondary materials that I have used to help me learn a foreign language this is, hands down, without reservation, the single most effective tool I have ever used.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good German reader for beginners. I recommend you reach each chapter twice before looking at the vocabulary, read again, then answer the questions.

My only complaint in the Kindle version the vocabulary font is way too small.

[Asma Jrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Perfect for beginners. I learned very common and important vocab and expressions, all while having fun from the beginning till the end. And one important thing is I never felt overwhelmed; you feel like you're progressing in a very smooth, natural, satisfying way.

[Tjh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for somebody learning German. Lots of vocabulary to pick up, and some interesting factoids about the various cities in Germany.

[Kezi Augustine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Und habe ich viel gelernt. I haven't found other my learner books all that interesting, but this one kept my interest.

[Martha De Garay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buen libro para aprender expresiones en alemán de uso cotidiano.

[Sean P. Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ausgezeichnet!

Ich liebe Dino. Er ist am besten. Mit Dino willst du Besser Deutsch verstehen. Dies Buch sind fuer alle Leute moechte Deutsch lernen.

[Meghana Lakayil · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a great book for A1-A2 level German learners, I enjoyed it and was surprised I could understand most of the words!

[Ahna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super useful for fluency in speaking and reading.