11 YEARS AND UP
A preview of some of children's books in German for 11 year olds you can expect.
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At 11 puberty is setting in, friends and peers are ever more important. Some might have their first crushes or a strong interest in the other sex, while others are still building with legos (or both might be true at the same time). The middle grade books for this age group will reflect all this - peer pressure, bullying, finding your identity are common themes. History and mystery novels are popular, fantasy and adventure stories as well as serious real life issues can be good choices.
For the German bilingual reader there are good options of suspenseful books in easy language. And graphic novels always work.
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Historical adventure story: 4 friends set out to travel from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago in the early 20th century. They fish a box with 3 dollars from the river - a fortune at the time - and order a gun through mail order. To their disappointment they receive a watch... but then an armed man tries to steal the watch from them. They decide to find the owner... Award winning, highly accurate historical novel
Teenager Elle is new at school. Being extrovert and confident she quickly makes friends - but confronted with some stressors, like a group of mean girls and a boy who has a crush, other character traits (or personalities?) take over... Beautiful and super engaging graphic novel series with a mystery.
Bestselling German middle grade novel told in letters: Emma and Lore are best friends and spend every minute they can together. But then Lore not only moves away, but also is no more allowed digital devices - and they are for forced to stay in touch through letters! They write about crushes, patch-work families, and struggles tween and teens have in a warm and humorous voice.
If you ever doubted maths applies to real life and could be fun - get this book. A comic with varies problems a class of kids ask, and that get solved. Ever wanted to know how many tears fill a bathtub? Or how likely is it that you have a double in your class? That you can predict the course of a penalty kick?
The orphan Krabat is drawn to the mill of which many eery stories are told. Together with 11 other teens he learns black magic from the miller there. He will discover that black magic gives him power and wealth, but also means less freedom. Can he free himself of the evil powers, or is he foreve r doomed like others at the mill? A classic YA novel that seems more timely than ever.
Mischa and Nits have been friends forever. Mischa admires Nits for all his knowledge on animals and his cool way of phrasing things. But suddenly he discovers Nits also tells lies. And they keep getting more, a tangled web of lies... A gritting, but also entertaining novel on friendship and inequality.
