Learn German with Stories: Karneval in Köln - 10 Short Stories for Beginners

Dino lernt Deutsch #3

by André Klein

Take your German to the next level and boost your vocabulary, reading comprehension and grammar sense with these German stories for beginners! In this follow-up to Ferien in Frankfurt, Dino finds himself in Cologne, the Carnival Capital of Germany and home of the Cologne Cathedral. Struggling with tacky accommodations and an empty wallet, he stumbles over a gig which promises to be a walk down easy street. But before he knows it, the carnival begins and he’s faced with an onslaught of bewildering customs, an inebriated four-legged friend and sudden downpours of candy. Explore Cologne’s colorful carnival tradition, its very unique form of German humor (yes, it exists!), learn about local sights and sounds, and improve your German effortlessly along the way! Learning German Doesn't Have To Be A Chore Just got started learning German? Memorized a few words and phrases but struggle with anything more complex? We've all been there. This book of German learning stories is designed to help beginners make the leap from studying isolated words and phrases to reading (and enjoying!) German fiction. Using simplified sentence structure and a very basic vocabulary you can build upon, this German short stories book is carefully crafted to allow even novice learners to fully immerse themselves in authentic German literature. Each chapter comes with a complete German-English dictionary with special emphasis on collocative phrases (high frequency word combinations), short sentences and expressions designed for improved memorization. By working with these building blocks instead of just single words, learners can boost their active usage of new material instantly and make the language learning process more fluid and fun. What You'll Find In This Book 10 German stories about culture, language and cuisine a balance between easy vocabulary and introduction of new words tons of phrases and expressions you will actually use in daily life fun tidbits about the city of Cologne, its history, dialect and traditions a detailed German-English dictionary after every chapter enough support to make following along easy, without spoiling your own efforts fun short quizzes to check your text-comprehension (including answers) a relatable protagonist and other fun characters hand-drawn illustrations by the author the beginning of a grand German learning adventure ... Read, Learn & Collect Them All Yes! That's right. This is only the third episode of a whole series of exciting German short stories for beginners. Follow our protagonist to Munich, Zurich, Vienna and many other cities! Before you know it, you'll have travelled half of Europe and picked up more German than years' worth of expensive courses. Learning German has never been more fun. What You WON'T Find In This Book parallel translations that may seem convenient but don't teach you anything dull characters designed by academics and committees interspersed English sentences that take you out of the reading flow archaic German words and phrases nobody uses in real life

Genres: German Literature, Fiction, Short Stories, Language, Germany, 21st Century, Own

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 11, 2014

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

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series on Dino's adventures in Germany. I liked reading this one more than the previous one .

Dino had so much fun in Köln! He became a Hundesitter, lived in a villa and in a hostel, and went to a carnival. But I felt a bit discouraged when I read that Köln has its own dialect :/ Dino felt this way too, actually! He learned that it's not "das Mädchen" in Köln, but "das Mädsche". How crazy is that? I mean, isn't it enough for a girl the she as a... well, an 'it'? And as if it was not enough, we have on our hands "Blootwoosch" instead of a "Blutwurst".

Other than that, Karneval in Köln is a great read. Short, funny and entertaining. And educating, of course!

[Samichtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories! Hopefully I understand better by the time I make it to the last one 😿

[Evan Edinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for learning!

[tomás?! · Rating 4 out of 5]

es wird jedes mal komplexer! es ist sehr #albern, aber lustig

[Ang Quine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful for learning German. I'm a beginner/intermediate learner at about A2 level. This was perfect to stretch me just a little whilst also being mostly understood on first reading. I even laughed a couple of times - which feels great when you're learning a language!

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful

[Efe Karabulat · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's getting hard real quick!

At this point, my vocabulary is around 2000 words. Not marvelous but nothing to scoff at either. Still, I had to use my dictionary a lot and learned 120+ new words from the book. The funny part is it's just the third one, out of a ten-book "beginner" series. Wow. German is something else. [Insert some "Mark Twain on German" quote here]

The storyline is not as good as the first two but who cares? Dino is still an overly anxious bag of rocks and that keeps him funny enough as long as the story goes.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Buch ist lustig. Der Hund und Dino haben abenteuer in Köln während des Karnevals. Es is einfach und für Anfänger.

My first verrrrry easy book in German!

[Sam Hockley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich bin ein Kölner

[Dominik · Rating 4 out of 5]

André Klein w III części podnosi nieco poprzeczkę. Pojawiają się zdania w trybie przypuszczającym i w czasie Plusquamperfekt (czas zaprzeszły).

Dino tym razem trafia do Kolonii, w której to mieszkańcy przygotowują się do karnawału. Po przeczytaniu książki dowiadujemy się, kogo główny bohater poznał w tym przepięknym mieście i jaką rolę odegrał pies Benno?

[Cold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dino becomes lessy sleazy and more responsible. The series is edging towards redemption.

[Stefania Mihai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dino's voyage through Germany continues, this time in Köln. Cute and funny short stories, ideal for A2 level.

[Danijela Jerković · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Thoughts and Notes on Karneval in Köln...

It is astonishing how much enjoyment one can get out of a language that one understands imperfectly.
~Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve


In this follow-up to “Ferien in Frankfurt”, Dino finds himself in Cologne, the carnival capital of Germany and home of the Cologne Cathedral.

Great way to explore Cologne’s colorful carnival tradition, learn about local sights and sounds, and improve German effortlessly along the way!

Entertainment and humor are present from page 1.


You live a new life with every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.
~Czech Proverb

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta vez Dino decide visitar y trabajar en Colonia.
En el pizarrón de su vivienda compartida descubre entre todos los anuncios uno específicamente para él: se solicita un cuidador de perro que hable italiano, ¡ maravilla de maravillas! Habla por teléfono con Frau Gantenberg e inmediatamente es contratado para cuidar a un San Bernardo llamado Benno.
Cuando Dino llega a la casa, Frau Gantenberg le da las llaves de la villa y la mitad de su salario y toma su maleta y deja a Dino encargado de todo y del perro.
Este capítulo menciona los atractivos de la ciudad: su famosa catedral gótica y su Carnaval. Dino asiste con su amigo brasileño Pedro, llevando a Benno, al Carnaval. ¿Cómo termina la aventura? Hay que leerla.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great beginner introduction to reading in German.

[Oli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for Deutsch lernen, but the plot ist nicht so gut.

[Babbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reader offers stories with simple language for those interested in learning German. Targeted at the A1 level, unknown words are listed in bold, with a glossary at the end of each short story, defining phrases and words you might not know at that level. Since the stories are geared for adult language learner, the main character does things that would be relevant to an adult, like riding the train, checking into hotels, etc.

While the stories are very simple, since you're working with very limited, mostly present tense vocabulary, they are still more interesting than books aimed at kids with similar language abilities. Another positive, is the mention of regional differences in language throughout Germany. This particular book focuses on the city of Cologne.

I recommend picking up the audiobook as a companion so you can hear the words as well as read them (at the time of writing this, it's <$2 from audible).

[Ewa Anna Lach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series is very good for language practice when you already know the basics. Every subsequent book contains new, expanded vocabulary, and higher level of grammar therefore you can monitor your progress. Thematically the books are well chosen and provide most useful language practice for every day use for example: eating out, cleaning, shopping, but also looking for a job, dating and so on. I read these to refresh my very rusty German and still the books are useful and interesting enough for me to enjoy them. One tiny complaint: this particular book contains some stereotypes when it comes to other nations (p. 82 ... but it was originally published in 2017 - things have changed in the world since ) I am removing one star nevertheless for it should be edited by now ...

[Nancy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an engaging story that helped me learn about modern conversational German speech patterns, while learning about the cultural phenomenon of Karneval in Koln. It is tremendously helpful to hear the actual pronunciation while reading the text--an excellent use of the audiobook format. I also enjoy the sound effects. Once again, a dog is used to lighten up the narrative--this time a St. Bernard or "Bernhardiner" in German. One thing I found slightly distracting was learning about terms specific to Koln dialect, but others may enjoy that. I look forward to reading all the Dino stories by Andre Klein.

[Sol Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making my way through the “Dino Learnt Deutsch” series, this is book number three. Written with its characteristic silliness, Dino is confronted with new challenges when he dog sits a wealthy woman’s St. Bernard. The dog gets drunk while Dino is readying for the big Karneval in his new town, and he is stuck lugging the massive creature to the vet. Aber, Bernhardiner sind sehr robuste Tiere, as the vet points out, and Dino joins the veterinary staff in celebration while his hunde sobers up. Lots of fun, good vocabulary work for one who wants to learn German words for intoxication and passing out and whatnot, without it being blatantly about Dino being an irresponsible study abroad kid.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dino Lernt Deutsch serisinin üçüncü kitabı. Köpek bakıcılığı için bir aile ile anlaşan ve Benno adlı köpeğe bakmak için Köln şehrine gelen Dino, burada yaşadıklarını anlatıyor. Köln şehrinde ona ait deyimler, katıldığı karnaval, kravat giydiği için Sarah adlı bir kız tarafından öpülmesi ve kravatın kesilmesi, karnaval sırasında gökten şeker, sakız yağdırılması, Köln partilerinde sürekli içilmesi, hayvan kötü olunca veterinere götürülmesi, hayvanın sahipleri erken geleceği için Sarah ve arkadaşından yardım istemesi, evi toplayıp yeni bir kravat alması ve onlara para vermesine rağmen, bu işten baya bir para kazanması anlatılıyor. Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir kitap.

[Garima Yadav · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are very interesting, I got so involved in the story that I forgot to look up the new words and do exercises. My understanding has definitely improved since it's first book, it's fun to read and I am able to retain more words and phrases because of their context. I am also enjoying reading these books because they talk about German culture. Things like "blutwurst" , "Weiberfastnacht" and many other interesting stuff, which I would not have known from just learning the words from a list.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's great for intermediate learners, I think. I was able to get through each story pretty quickly. It gives you a page with the meaning of certain highlighted words in the stories. But, I still needed to use a translation app once in a while to decipher the odd word.

A good size to keep in your bag and do when you have a short amount of time.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series. It was hilarious and zany as always.
I felt overall the vocabulary was harder than in the past two books, in addition to learning Cologne-specific dialect words and phrases. This short little read makes me feel so accomplished for being able to read a whole book in German!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny easy German reader. A ludicrous plot, but that’s half the fun really. Dino finds himself in a new city with literally 4 Euros in his pocket and stumbles into an amazingly cushy dog sitting job. Hilarity ensues.

Each chapter is followed by the vocab used and a quick multiple choice quiz to check if you actually got the basic point of the bit you just read.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great resource for German learners. It's a good way to practice reading, gives learning checks, introduces readers to Köln Karneval culture, and even throws in some Kölsch dialect. I would probably recommend this to anyone who has A2 proficiency or higher, but you could probably read it with a little extra work at an upper A1 level.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carnavalul din Köln comparativ cu primele 2 colecţii de povestiri pare puţin mai complexă, mai ales când Dino începe a căuta un job. Descrierea atmosferei festive cât şi dialectul specific teritoriului contribuie la o trăire autentică.

[María · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein weiteres Abenteuer mit Dino. Ich genoss diese mehr, vielleicht, weil ich habe jetzt viel verstanden. Dieser Bücher haben eine gute Balance zwischen Kultur, Geschichtenerzählen und Sprachdidaktik.

[Sakshi ✨]

Ich lese sehr gerne über Dinos Abenteurer in verschiedenen deutschen Städten. Ich kann viel über die deutsche Kultur und die unterschiedlichen Traditionen des Landes lernen. Die Kurzgeschichten sind auch ziemlich lustig und ich mag jeden neuen Charakter.

[Sally Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is laugh out loud funny. A few months in to learning German, I'm really enjoying reading this series, learning new words, recognising patterns and becoming a confident reader. Plus wanting to see how Dino fares in his travels through the German speaking countries of Europe.