The second Saturday in September is German Language Day. I have a few books to display today. The first are two grammer books I have had ever since high school. The first is “A German Review Grammer” by T. Herbet Etzler and Harvey Dunkle, 1965. It was actually discarded from Zion-Benton Township High School library. It is a ‘just the facts” review guide.
The second is “Reviewing German” by R. Max Rodgers, Arthur R. Watkins, and Walter H. Speidel, published 1971. This is an actual textbook that never made its way back to school.
This is recent book that I just found when bookshopping at a book sale. “The First Thousand Words in German” by Heather Amery and Cornelie Tücking, 1979. It is a cute book to first learn (or in my case try to re-learn) some German.
On my first trip to Germany in 1975, I took along this pocket sized dictionary and phrase book. I also have a postcard from Munich. On the backside of the postcard, and on the inside cover of the dictionary, are German cuss words and phrases that I begged our cute German guide Brigette, to write down for me. For payment, I would send her a pair of Levi’s jeans when I got back to the US. They were in high demand in Germany. (I did send it! Mom was mad though, at the cost of learning German cuss words.)
I also have some kids books in German. The first is “Die Heinzelmännchen” by August Kopisch. This is a great story in German and in English about some gnomes that worked in Cologne for everyone until a baker’s wife stuck her nose into what they were doing and made them mad. They then left the city and everyone had to do their own work.
The second book is “Die Häschenschule” by Albert Sixus and illustrated by Fritz Koch-Gothe. It is a new copy of a book about Rabbit School originally written in 1924.
“Das Puppenhaus” by Lothar Meggendorfer was orginally printed in 1911. Meggendorfer was very famous for his pop-ups. This is a recent copy. The book opens up to a five room house. It also has cutout furniture and people. I bought this on my last trip to Germany for my mother’s pop-up book collection.
“Unser Haus!” by Antje von Stemm, 2005 is another kid’s book I bought in Germany. This book opens up to show a snapshot of six apartments. you can flip the page on any of the six, and see a different shot of the people in the apartments. It goes from when they wake up, to when they go to sleep. There are no words, you just talk about what you see in the pictures. My grandkids love this book.
The last kid’s book I have in German is”Theater-Bilderbuch: Vier Scenen für das Kinderherz” by Franz Bonn, another souvenir from Germany. This is also a recent reprint of an old folding book that has four stories for kids. The page I have opened up to is for “Little Red Riding Hood” or “Das Rotkäppchen”.
I enjoy to know and then practice a little German, whether struggling through an old storybook or in conjugating verbs. Everyone should try a second language. I could be a leseratte, a reading rat-for one who loves to read. I could also be a Bücherwurm, one who always has his nose in a book.
Here I am, our teacher-chaperone, Miss Muller in middle, and guide Brigette to the right. Sehr schön.
I will leave with a saying that Brigette in 1975 left me with:
“Wer’s zuerst vernimmt, der hat zuerst geflimmt.”
Danke fürs Lesen.
Librarytomes 