Learning German through Storytelling

Baumgartner & Momsen #1-5

by André Klein

This collector’s edition comprises the first five episodes of the popular “Baumgartner & Momsen” crime and mystery series for intermediate and advanced German Mord am Morgen, Die Dritte Hand, Des Spielers Tod, Zum Bärenhaus and Heidis Frühstück. Harald Baumgartner is a grumpy old-fashioned flatfoot with an infallible instinct for catching killers, Katharina Momsen is a sassy sleuth and a cold sober markswoman. Together they are “Baumgartner & Momsen”, the quirky but effective team feared by crooks and criminals everywhere. Each story invites readers to help solve a crime and pick up important German vocabulary along the way. At the end of every chapter relevant words are translated into English, followed by short text-comprehension questions. (The correct answers can be found at the end of each story in the Answer Key section.) While the stories themselves are primarily aimed at creating an immersive and entertaining reading experience for German learners, the language is specially designed to familiarize readers with unique forms of spoken German with a special emphasis on dialogue and common idiomatic phrases.

Genres: German Literature

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2016

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

[Emily Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning and murder too

I very much enjoy these stories which are for more advanced German readers. The mysteries are interesting and the characters of the two detectives have an enjoyable cammeraderie. I recommend reading them once you've worked through all the Dino books.

[Gigi Swenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to practice German and boost vocabulary

My little Kaffeeklatsch group read these stories together to practice speaking and build vocabulary, and they were great! The stories are well written, fun and short enough so that they don’t drag on and lose anyone who missed a week. The vocab list for each story is super helpful and the Übungen at the ends help give us something to discuss and make sure we caught all the meanings. Highly recommended for adults who want to practice German reading skills.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book for German language learners at B1/B2 level, exactly as it says on the tin.

This collector's edition has a good Preisleistungsverhältnis, not sure if I would've bought the books individually.

[Kriselda Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun stories that help make German a bit easier

I've really enjoyed these books and have found that my comprehension of German had grown, as had my vocabulary. Well worth reading!

[Nhung Qnk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deutscher Krimi 101 😁 Diese Serien sind ja schwieriger als „Dino lernt Deutsch“ aber man kann die Bücher ohne Wörterbuch genießen. Die Vokabellisten am Ende jedes Teils sind auch sehr hilfreich

[Marina Antillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant way to practice language skills. The author has a mini-glossary at the end of the short chapters that saved me the trouble/distraction of looking things up.