Literature for Young Readers

New children’s books tell gripping, quirky stories, but also address serious subjects, such as pandemics and war.

 

Recent picture books tell stories about animals that can be the best of friends. And how imagination opens our eyes to the invisible.

New children’s books tell some crazy and comical stories, while others are populated with dangerous gangsters, ghosts and AI.

Picture books can comfort us when grandma dies, make us think about our origins or connect a refugee story with a sea princess. And some are great art!

The latest children’s books tell stories about animals holidaying on a farm, a girl who’s annoyed by her football-loving family and a maths ace who realises that not every equation works out in life. And there are two non-fiction children’s books about numbers and molluscs.

A recently-published children’s book shows family conversations about sex to be difficult, but also funny at times. Other recent publications feature robots at school, environmental protection, Death Junior and German grammar.

Animals appear in unexpected places in recent picture books. They also convey the realisation that humans are strange creatures.

Children’s books shape the way we see the world as we grow up. There have thus been growing calls in recent years for children’s book publishers to reflect social and cultural diversity.

A she-wolf has an unusual career goal, a little dog is left behind in a hotel and a mouse takes a journey through time. These and many more stories can be discovered in newly published picture books.

Some recent children’s books take readers to magical worlds of adventure. In another, an unexpected inheritance changes lives. And because children should be able to talk about climate change, we present a suitable book on the topic.

The little heroes in Nikolaus Heidelbach’s picture books do not live in a colourful children’s paradise, nor are they angelically innocent beings themselves either. The Cologne author’s narrative style depicts the light and the dark, as it were, in words and in pictures. Children can handle it, he says.

Even among the youngest readers, demand for digital formats is higher than ever. But switching from the printed page to apps, games, and VR formats is a huge financial challenge, especially for smaller publishing houses. 

Ideally books for children and young adults open up a world of possibilities and convey ideals, norms and values in the spirit of the times. When, though, do they go too far? Throughout history, books have been ideologically reinterpreted or written specifically to steer young readers in a particular political direction.

The post-reunification period, upheavals, queerness, ethics, and morality: new books for young people offer a wide range of topics

New youth novels include an unusual love story and a girl with aggression issues. Two youth non-fiction books are about friendship and the difficulty of finding the right job.

Five new young adult novels tell of the difficulties of growing up – after leaving school, without a father, submerged in digital worlds, in provincial isolation and in the aftermath of World War II. Stories that are sometimes sad, sometimes hopeful.

The real world is much more diverse than is reflected in our literature.  A discrepancy that is also revealed in books written in German for children and teenagers. Victoria Engels briefly touches upon the complexity of the “diversity question” and casts a spotlight on few authors who are closing the gap with their contributions.

Recent youth novels: riveting and relevant, while also taking up historical events.

A class outing, a road trip with a wolf, a spaceship in front of the Reichstag, a magical empire on an industrial wasteland, a model’s testimony. Our selection of newly published books for young people explores these and much more.