Tearing the Silence; On Being German in America by Ursula Hegi

  Tearing the Silence: On Being German in America Tearing the Silence –On Being German in America”, by Ursula Hegi, is not for everyone. I know from my family how difficult the subject of War is for Germans. The book is at times very personal, and often painful. Germans don’t generally do personal (at least, not with strangers). But that…

Richard Scarry Dictionary- My Best Word Book Mein Allerschoenstes Wörterbuch

I still have my old beat up copy of Mein Allerschoenstes Woerterbuch by Richard Scarry (My Best Word Book). This Richard Scarry Dictionary has seen some loving in its time. Now, it’s hard to get excited about a dictionary. Most of them are thick, filled with lots of words that I can’t spell, so it’s impossible to look them up.…

Opa and Oma Books by Kevin Donovan – German Heritage for Kids

I came across these Oma and Opa Books by Kevin Donovan, and decided to take a closer look. What a wonderful series for teaching Children about their German Heritage. Kevin Donovan got the idea for the books after living in Germany for a few years with his German wife Helga and their young children. The concept is simple; English speaking…

German Christmas Baking Recipes: Traditional Recipes Made Easy by Christian Teubner

Christmas Baking: Traditional Recipes Made Easy (English and German Edition) Christian Teubner has written a number of German Cookbooks, but “Christmas Baking” is one that I reach for all the time. Originally titled “Weinachtsbaekerei”, it covers all of the traditional German Christmas Cookie Recipes, and even a few cakes and breads. It’s a little book, but it is LOADED with…

Culinaria Germany – More than Just a Cookbook

Culinaria Germany might be stored on my cookbook shelf, but it is not a standard Cookbook. This encyclopedia of German food and food history contains more than just recipes. The book covers each German state, and the foods each region specializes in ( and why). This is the type of book you can read cover to cover, or you can…

The Original Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm

  Boy did Disney get it wrong! The Original fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, were not about sweetness and light, they were dark and bloody stories meant to frighten or teach.  When the brothers compiled their first edition, the stories were even darker still! The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm is a reprint of the…

The Book “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See Some mom friends of mine recently convinced me to joint their book club. I love reading, so, it seemed like a natural. The first assigned book “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr was a tough one for me. It’s well written and engaging… but it’s about World War 2 in Germany…

The Flour is Different – German Recipes for the American Kitchen

The Flour Is Different: German Heritage Recipes and Traditions “The Flour is Different… Das Mehl ist Anders.” My mom took one look at the cover of this book and said, “ It’s true, the flour here is different”. For German Bakers in America, this can be rather frustrating. Baked goods like bread and cakes don’t come out “right”. (But, it…

German Life Magazine Subscription- Travel, Culture, Recipes and Heritage

[no_toc] German Life I’ve had a German Life Magazine Subscription for the past 7 or 8 years. German Life Magazine, for those of you who haven’t been lucky enough yet to discover it, is a magazine for anyone who loves Germany or has a German speaking heritage (The magazine is not just Germany, the magazine also covers Austria and Switzerland).…

Der StruwwelPeter – How German Parents Kept Kids in Line

German Stories and Fairy Tales for kids were NOT all sweetness and light. Many stories, especially those from the pre-1950s, were cautionary tales, designed to impart lessons, or give warnings. Aschenputtel’s (Cinderella’s) sisters get their feet cut off….and Max and Moritz get eaten by ducks. And then there was Stuwwelpeter (and Struwwelliese…). It’s truly a wonder any of us got…

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