Learning German Through Storytelling: Mord Am Morgen

Baumgartner & Momsen #1

by André Klein

Why brood over grammar sheets and lifeless workbooks when you can be entertained and learn natural German at the same time!


This book contains:


* includes vocabulary with difficult and important words translated to English
* ready for on-demand translation (only available on physical Kindle devices)
* includes exercises for comprehension training
* hand-drawn illustrations by the author

Genres: German Literature, Fiction, Language, Mystery, Audiobook, Ebooks, 21st Century

ebook

First published January 1, 2012

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

[Théo d'Or]

- Halt !! Papiere, bitte !

- Guten Tag d'abord, Lieutenant.

- Kein Guten Tag, papiere , schnell !! Your name !

- Je m'appelle Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän, et je voudr...

- " Donaudampf....what ? That's weird. So , you're a sailor ? Why aren't you called " Fritz ", like everyone else ? Do you think you impress me ?

- Ah...Yo no soy marinero, yo soy Kapitän... Na ja, my father's tastes, Lieutenant....Es tut mir leid...

- Kein Problem. Von jetzt an, you'II be called " Fritz ". Verstehst du, Dampf... ? You have to say a poem, ein Gedicht, oder so, in German, otherwise, access verboten !

- Mmm... Ein , zwei , Polizei, drei vier, Grenadier.. Ja, ja, ja... Was ist los, was ist das ?

- Get dich nichts an ! Alles klar ?

- Ja....ja...Wunderbar...

[Sal Coraccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story-wise, I think it is a fair-to-middlin' example of the detective genre. It had an engaging progression and the reveal wasn't of the "you've got to be kidding me - how am I supposed to figure that out??" variety, which is - unpleasant.

But that isn't the point, is it? I found it a challenging read - certainly in the intermediate/beginner variety so it was a stretch for me. Very comfortable to use the built in dictionaries and translate feature of the Kindle.

Some of the idioms were fun and the main characters were good together. Would love to read more in the series.

I'll hit it again after a bit to see if it is easier, and if I've learned anything.

[Maciel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein hervorragendes Buch, um mein Deutsch zu verbessern! Absolut zu empfehlen!

[Brenda Funk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick read to re format my brain into German language for my trip to Berlin! Good story line and just the right amount of challenge.

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally I've found an excellent German easy reading book which also works great on Kindle. An entertaining text with lots of new vocabulary, and the English translation of the new words is given at the end of each chapter. There are also questions to check the reader's understanding of the text, with the key to the questions at the end of the book.

[Hugo Ibanez · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is extremely short.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been studying German for about seven years, and I've spent time in both Germany and Austria. Though I feel fairly confident in my language skills, anytime I pick up a German language book I quickly become discouraged and give up. Mord am Morgen is exactly what I needed! I didn't understand every word, but I understood the story even without the vocabulary terms at the end of each chapter (though I'm glad they were there).

I also appreciated that the book offered themes appropriate for adults; I was worried I'd have to start reading German children's books. And while I don't generally read murder mysteries, I was perfectly content with the story: not too difficult to read, but interesting and quick.

I've already bought the next book in the series and expect that I'll eventually buy all of them.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excited to find German fiction at my level and using the kindle with dictionary makes it even more fun. Looking forward to more. That said, the secretive story was somewhat simple but perhaps that's more due to the reading level.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second experience with Andre Klein's German literary aids, and while this one is much shorter than the other one, it's a winner. It's a "Krimi" that doesn't take itself too seriously, and is written in a breezy, accessible style that makes the learning feel like a side effect of just enjoying a good story. That probably makes it especially ideal for intermediate students, as even the most diligent college kids have had their attention spans altered by the nonstop flow of entertainment and information coming out of everything from their cellphones to their neighbor student's mouth.

For those who don't know, a Krimi is the German equivalent of a police procedural, with some similarities to the American variants like "Law & Order," and some culturally specific differences based on the different methods employed in America and Germany to solve crimes. The longest running crime series in Deutschland (and maybe the longest-running series, period) "Tatort," is basically a cultural institution that has survived a million different iterations, plot twists, cast changes, and literal changes in systems of government, and is still running strong all these years later.

The story here, "Mord am Morgen" introduces a male and female partner teaming up to solve a crime that revolves around a shady land deal. Violence is not excessive, and language is for the most part PG-13. The vocabulary is varied enough that even expert German speakers are likely to find a new use for a slang word or a seldom-encountered idiom put to novel use within the pages. Each chapter is followed by a cheat sheet of sorts that reveals the meaning of the more difficult/advanced words peppered throughout the story. After that, a series of questions (usually three or four) are posed to the reader, just to test their comprehension of the story, and the vocab integrated to expand the reader's lexicon.

It's hard, maybe impossible to find fault with this one, even if you're looking. Painless learning is usually not this fruitful. Hats off to the author. Highest recommendation.

[Tyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource for practicing German. The author does a great job of keeping the story interesting while at the same time not utilizing too much more advanced vocabulary. Each chapter is followed by a set of definitions for the more difficult words of the chapter as well as a series of questions that readers can use to test their understanding of the chapter.

I found the questions to be very helpful as it allowed me to read each chapter at a somewhat normal pace without worrying about looking up every word I didn't know. Once I was finished with the chapter, I could go over the questions to gauge how well I understood the general story line and re-read it a second time, spending the time to look up unfamiliar words until I was comfortable with my understanding. I feel like taking this approach allowed me to work on both my general reading skills in German as well as my vocabulary.

The story itself was interesting, but naturally limited due to the fact that it was intended to primarily be teaching aid. That being said, I really enjoyed it and it kept my attention through the entire book. I only wish it was a little bit longer, but its brevity is understandable given the fact that it's meant to be a teaching aid first and a novel second.

This is the second of this author's books that I've read and I'm planning on reading more in the near future. I'd highly recommend them to anyone wanting to improve their German skills.

[Nor'dzin Pamo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was a bit advanced for my level of German language at the moment. I had to look up a great many words more than those offered at the end of the chapter. The story was interesting and the characters entertaining. I may try something easier and come back to this series later.
I liked the set of questions at the end of each chapter, but it would have been useful to have the answers on the next page, rather than all the answers for every chapter right at the end of the book.

[Lethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good speed and mostly comprehensible for an intermediate learner. My biggest gripe is that I listened to the Audible version and there is no pdf, which there really should be a pdf with vocabulary for a language learning book. For example, I have no idea what they were eating, as it was all unfamiliar vocabulary and I was not able to clearly transcribe what they were saying. The story was interesting enough, but I would recommend getting the book over the Audible.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful book for anyone that, like me, has taken a A1/A2 level German course. I found the story engaging and I was genuinely interested in finding out "who did it", but my main goal here was to learn German and I think this book was perfect for that. I am looking forward to reading other books in this series.

[Jen D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm learning lots of crime scene words while wondering who the killer is. :)

FYI If this series is a bit too challenging, the Dino Learns Deutsch series also by Andre Klein is a little easier to start with.

[Enrico · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book in German (excluding those for the kids): the challenge was understanding it following Roald Dahl’s advice, not worrying about the bits I couldn’t understand. Mission accomplished! I’ll try other titles and keep improving my German!

[Isaac Clemente ríos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una novela de misterio que hay que leer teniendo en cuenta sus limitaciones; es para estudiantes de alemán con un nivel digamos,... B1. Considerando que la mayor parte del material que se produce es para niños/jóvenes, pues no está nada mal.

Entretenida y cumple.

[Andrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein gutes Buch für B1

[Ela Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book introduces new words with balance, you can have a good time reading while learning.

[Pip · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first murder mystery in German!

[Evelyn Sander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intermediate book for learning German.

[Ashley Melucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for learning German. The vocabulary was well selected.

[Hannah Langhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story isn't earth-shaking, but this is a fun and very manageable exercise for advanced German learners.

[Opoponox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple plot kept me reading while accomplishing my goal, which was improving my German vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. Kindle dictionary is so helpful. I just hope the series has some variety.

[Yuser Alhaj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyable for learners, I think I'm going to complete this series

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say that this book is great for learning purposes. I feel that required vocabulary and knowledge for reading this book are low(beginner).

I would suggest it for a beginner.

[Joakim Laksman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good way to learn German.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good that I regret I didn't purchase a copy of it just for the author's sake.

[Fillip M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das ist ein stabiles Buch, ich kann nichts Schlechtes darüber sagen. Allerdings ist es kurz und nicht so lustig , wie es vorgestellt verwenden zu sein.

[Judy Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was hard for me. Short chapters though

[Kelly]

Damn, I read that book fast! 5 stars to my learning growth!