Short Stories and Novels
German as a foreign language
Why should I use graded readers?
Graded readers are an excellent resource for language students who are looking to improve their reading skills and expand their vocabulary.
Here are a few reasons why:
- They offer targeted vocabulary: Graded readers are designed to introduce new vocabulary gradually, building on what the student already knows. This makes them an effective way to expand vocabulary in a structured way, rather than overwhelming the student with too many new words at once.
- They provide context: Graded readers often include illustrations, annotations, and other helpful features that provide additional context for the reader. This can help students to understand the meaning of new words and phrases, and can also help them to build their comprehension skills.
- They build confidence: Reading in a foreign language can be intimidating, but graded readers offer a way for students to practice their reading skills in a more accessible way. By starting with simpler texts and gradually working their way up to more complex ones, students can build their confidence and feel more comfortable reading in German.
- They offer exposure to authentic language: Graded readers are often based on real-life situations and use authentic language, which can help students to develop a better understanding of how German is actually used in context.
Overall, our graded readers are a valuable tool for students of German who are looking to improve their reading skills, expand their vocabulary, and gain more confidence in their ability to read and understand German texts.
German stories for beginners
Our graded readers for beginners use simplified language that is appropriate for your level of proficiency. This makes the text more accessible and easier to understand. They provide a structured and accessible way to build vocabulary, develop comprehension skills, and gain confidence in reading in German.
German stories for intermediate learners
Our graded readers for intermediate students offer an opportunity to expand vocabulary, improve grammar, gain exposure to authentic language and cultural norms, and build comprehension skills, all while providing an engaging and enjoyable way to practice reading in German.
A1-B2 - 24 German Short Stories Vol. 1
- 6 short stories for each level (A1, A2, B1, B2) and therefore perfect for beginner and intermediate students
- Different genres such as historical, fantasy, science fiction, romance, animals
- Vocabulary German-English on each pages
- Audios files (mp3)
This book is perfect for you if you don’t have the patience to read a novel but are looking for something to complement your regular textbook or online course of German. You can start reading as soon as have your first 300 words and basic grammar under your belt and then move on from story to story while you continue with your German studies. Or you are an intermediate students who took a break and would like to start with something easy. The stories are so different that there’s really something for everybody.
A1 - Carla will nach Deutschland
- 20 texts for beginners that are connected
- Comprehension Questions
- Grammar Notes
- Grammar & Vocabulary Exercises
- Conversation questions
- Audio files (mp3)
- Editions for English & Spanish speakers
Carla is a young woman from Portugal who is learning German and plans to go to Germany and find herself a summer job. In 20 short and easy-to-understand chapters, you will get to know Carla, her parents Monica and Marcelo, her brother Thiago, her best friend Fernanda and her language exchange partner Susanne. You will learn about their everyday lives and activities. While reading, you’ll pick up new and relevant vocabulary and grammatical structures quickly and are encouraged to use them referring to your own life.
A2 - Jobsuche in München
- Continuation of “Carla will nach Deutschland”
- Grammar Focus: Past Tense
- Vocabulary German-English on every page
- Comprehension questions after each chapter
- Vocabulary & Grammar exercises after each chapter
- Audio files (mp3)
Carla, a young woman from Portugal has arrived in Munich and is looking for a job and a room. In 12 chapters, you can accompany her when she has a look at apartments, meets some pretty weird prospective roomies, has job interviews, bad and good experiences at work and falls in love with a young man from Norway. Apart from the dialogues, the book is written in the past tense and will therefore help you to become familiar with irregular forms that are not used in the spoken language. Improve your German by reading and listening to Carla’s adventures.
A2/B1 -Karina hat eine Mission
- Coherent storyline
- Vocabulary German-English
- Cultural Insights
- Comprehension Questions
- Language Tips (Grammar & Vocabulary)
- Translation Exercises
- Free audio recordings
Karina Hansen, a young biologist from Munich, is the main character of this story. Her parents tragically die in a car accident, and she discovers that her father has another child, her half-brother Benjamin. He was born in the former German Democratic Republic where Karina’s father came from but never returned to after he moved to Munich and met Karina’s mother. Karina sets off to find Benjamin, meets a handsome Italian, visits some beautiful places in East Germany and discovers pleasant and not-so-pleasant facts about her and Benjamin’s family.
B1 - Ein unvergesslicher Urlaub
- Continuation of “Jobsuche in München”
- Vocabulary English-German on each page and in alphabetical order at the end of each chapter
- Comprehension questions after each chapter
- Audio files (mp3)
- Coherent storyline
Carla and her Norwegian boyfriend leave Munich to spend some time at the German Baltic Sea coast before they move to Berlin. They are volunteering in small village on the island of Rügen when their hosts are stolen money and jewelry. In their attempt to help and find the thief, they meet a famous writer from Ireland, a Bulgarian computer expert with incredible hacking skills and learn about a tragic story in a remote city in Russia.
B1 - Ein Sommer in Heidelberg
- An easy-to-read novel with a coherent storyline
- German-English vocabulary on every page
- Comprehension Questions after each chapter
- Grammar and Vocabulary exercises after each chapter
- Audio files (mp3)
- Includes some Business German
Improve your German with this compelling story about Linda from Germany and Arianna from Italy whose lives change drastically after Linda’s mother has an accident. Read about their adventures and life decisions and acquire new words and expressions in a fun and effective way. Natural dialogues will expose you to colloquial German as it is used by native speakers in everyday situations but also to some business German.
B1/B2 - Johns deutsche Familie
- A mixture of a historical and contemporary novel
- 27 chapters covering a time range of almost 160 years (1864 – 2022)
- More difficult to read than “Ein Sommer in Heidelberg” but extensive vocabulary help on each page
- Comprehension questions after each chapter
- More than 200 minutes of audio (mp3)
John, a young American law student, discovers old diaries written in German in his late great-grandmothers house. He learns German, a young historian helps him to translate the old German diaries and he discovers why his ancestors moved to America and what their lives were like in Texas in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 2022, John finally makes it to Germany. Together with his distant cousin Alexandra from Bavaria he uncovers a secret from the past and learns about connections between his family and the Nazis during the time of the Third Reich.
B2 - Umzug nach Berlin
- Continuation of “Ein unvergesslicher Urlaub”
- 16 chapters with a coherent storyline
- Vocabulary German-English on each page
- Comprehension questions after each chapter
- Focus on colloquial and idiomatic expressions
- Conversation questions after each chapter
- Audio files (mp3)
Carla and Henrik moved to Berlin but things don’t go quite as planned. They have problems with housing that also affects their relationship and at one point, Carla suspects that Henrik cheats on her. As a result, she’s thankful about the opportunity to leave Berlin for a couple of weeks. She realizes that she needs to make a decision about her relationship with Henrik but is also wondering whether to continue living in Germany or go back to Portugal where she even has a job offer.
Learn German everywhere!
Our books to learn German come in pdf or mobi (Kindle) format and are compatible with any device (PC, laptop, Mac, iPad, tablet, ebook reader) or you can buy them as a paperback. They include professional recordings of each dialogue in mp3. You can listen to the audio while reading the book, or you can play the mp3 recordings on your phone or audio player and listen to the book anywhere.