New Children’s Books  Children’s Lives in Motion

We present a small selection of recommended read‑aloud books, first readers and children’s novels. They explore children’s everyday realities as well as fantastic stories and adventures.

In a perfectly ordinary street stands a perfectly ordinary house. But on the ground floor there is a completely extraordinary shop – filled with jars, boxes, little bags, leather pouches and tin cans. They don’t contain objects, but sounds for every situation in life. That was the setting of Kathrin Rohmann’s imaginative read‑aloud adventure Der Geräuschehändler (The Sound Merchant, 2023).

Now the lovable Sound Merchant is back, bringing new sounds from a recent journey. Shortly afterwards he receives a parcel containing two pairs of swimming trunks. Something must have gone wrong, because he certainly doesn’t sell swimming trunks. But these swimming trunks can talk – and they, too, want sounds, such as a “public‑pool cannonball splasher”. Help is at hand. Other customers with unusual requests appear. Then a monster drops off its rucksack, and the curious Sound Merchant opens it …

Der Geräuschehändler bekommt Post (The Sound Merchant receives mail) is a successful sequel and another invitation to follow fantastic stories and prick up your ears. Rohmann’s text is perfectly complemented by illustrator Jule Wellerdiek: “The illustrations unfold the world of sound in the most varied colours and make the read‑aloud experience complete!” (Recommendation of the German Academy for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, September 2025).

A Stumbling Heart

Little Hans loves his grandparents dearly but hasn’t seen them for quite a while. Suddenly everything happens very quickly. The family sets off because Grandpa has to go to hospital – his heart is “stumbling”. Hans doesn’t understand what that means. And why isn’t he allowed to visit the hospital? He roams through the empty village, meets Liv and Mats, feels how much he misses his grandfather, and eventually learns that life means change.

Judith Burger’s read‑aloud book Opas Herz (Grandpa's Heart) is told with warmth and sensitivity. It offers an age‑appropriate way of dealing with serious illness within the family, but also celebrates a child’s curiosity. Complemented by Julie Völk’s delicate drawings, Burger “tells a quiet story that has an intense impact. Hans’s fear for his grandfather is described in clear, child‑friendly language. Young readers will immediately understand what he feels and means” (MDR Kultur).

A Miracle on the Edge of Town

From high up on the 11th floor, the lake with its jagged outline looks like a star. But that alone doesn’t make the “Star Lake” in a bleak high‑rise estate on the outskirts of town a sensation – it only becomes one when it freezes over and simply doesn’t thaw again, not in spring and not in summer.

Against this backdrop, Will Gmehling tells in Der Sternsee (The Star Lake) the story of a gang of children – Sissi, Anastasia, Mo and the narrator. They’ve always met at the lake. But since it froze, everything has changed: TV crews arrive, the lake becomes a tourist attraction, and in the end the children themselves are no longer the same. Beautifully designed by Jens Rassmus, this first reader won the Luchs Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature in April 2025: “A poetic children’s novel with a clear tone and full of fascinating images of nature. A truly good book doesn’t need many pages,” the jury stated.

A River Journey as a Test

Nuria is eight years old and is to spend the holidays with her strong‑willed grandmother Ella. Her parents need time alone to save their relationship. Even in everyday life, they hardly have time for Nuria. So she agrees to stay with her grandmother. But Ella is not the picture‑book granny who spoils her grandchild with sweets – she can be quite nasty, too. She takes Nuria along on her cargo barge because she still has something to take care of. An adventurous river journey begins, with a dog and a talking parrot on board, during which Nuria learns to prove herself and stand her ground.

Sigrid Zeevaert tells this story in her children’s novel Nuria from the perspective of the young heroine. “A perfect book for primary‑school children aged 8 and over: an adventurous journey with a likeable main character – full of funny and thoughtful moments,” says Lisa Krumme from NDR’s Mikado editorial team.

On Being a Stranger and Finding One’s Place

Eleven‑year‑old Nikita has fled from Ukraine to Germany with his Aunt Dina. He is new in the class, must learn German and wants to make friends. When it comes to defending a secret forest hut, he needs great courage. Fortunately, Cara the dog is there to help!

Die geheime Hütte im Wald (The secret Hut in the Forest) is the title of this gripping children’s novel by Eva Lezzi about a boy dealing with the challenges of being a stranger and finding a new place in Germany – and who ultimately turns out to be braver than he thinks. “Lezzi tells gently of refugee children, courage and friendship” (German Academy for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Extrablatt 3/2025).

New Beginnings

Moving from primary to secondary school is quite normal. But for many children it marks a turning point. For Jelena and Jakob, everything is different at their new school: she misses her best friend Lotte, and he dislikes change altogether – he’d prefer not to talk to anyone and just read. Then the two of them are asked to present a shared favourite topic as part of a getting‑to‑know‑you project. But do they have anything in common at all?

With Jakob und Jelena, the award‑winning children’s and young adult author Tamara Bach has created a sensitive children's novel about two outsider figures. The story is told alternately from Jelena’s and Jakob’s perspectives. Additional plotlines feature other convincingly portrayed characters. Slowly, respect, self‑confidence and friendship grow. Tamara Bach has “woven all this into a wonderful story, colourfully illustrated with feather‑light watercolours by Barbara Yelin – a book that truly deserves to be called literature,” writes Andrea Wanner in TITEL kulturmagazin.

January 2026