Getting to Know Germany and German

I just ordered and received this book and have only begun to put it to good use. But from what I can see, it is going to be a lovely addition to my extensive collection of German books for children - packed with quality material that is put forth in a way that is appealing to children. I did notice one very dated piece of information in the book, however -- it still refers to the Deutsch Mark and the Pfennig as the German currency. Germany has used the Euro for some time now. This makes an interesting bit of history, actually, and I don't mind it too much, but it could disappoint someone who is looking for the most up-to-date info. That's why I gave the book only 4 stars.

I asked my son, age 12, about all the materials we had purchased over the years about learning German. He told me honestly that most of the language computer programs were boring. So while he learned a bit, it did not fire up his interest. What turned him on to learn more than anything else was "Getting to know Germany and German." The small book is "packed" with lots of cultural details (24 pages), plus an additional section at the end on common phrases. This last section uses easy-to-follow phonetics, and covered the basic mechanics of language. We were amazed at his skill at pronunciation. But most of all, his enthusiasm to learn more German vocabulary from other sources. We've had many other ABC and picture books around the house, and a few audio tapes, but this one rated tops in his mind.