By Learners For Learners titles

​We've released our first books ​for kids learning German!
​Click on the titles to download from UCalgary's PRISM today!
Ein Briefträger im Außerweltraum
(A Letter-Carrier in Outer Space)
[download link]

Oh no! This package is missing its address label! Never fear, this diligent letter carrier will go from planet to planet to make sure the mail is delivered.

Written by Daniel Thompson, Annika Burgel, Charlie E. Wilson, & Rodie
​(UCalgary)
Illustrated by Rodie
Edited by Miriam Siggelkow
​
​Buttons geht zum Arzt 
​(Buttons Goes to the Doctor)
​[download link]

Buttons is scared to go to the doctor for the first time, but learns not to be afraid!

Written and Illustrated by Paige White (UCalgary)
Edited by Miriam Siggelkow
​Die kleinen sommersprossigen Marienkä​fer 
(The Little Freckled Ladybugs)
​[download link]

Young ladybugs learn to value being unique rather than worry about being different.
​
Written by Maggie Byrne
​(UCalgary)
Illustrated by Rodie
Edited by Miriam Siggelkow
Hans im Wald!
(Hans in the Woods!)
​[download link]

Poor little Hans wandered off from a family picnic and got lost in the woods! Once the sun goes down, he has to spend a scary night alone in a cave before his family finds him.

Written by Aurora Clark & Joyce Chan
​(UCalgary)
Illustrated by Salma Zein
Edited by Miriam Siggelkow
More titles coming soon:

​Die Ziegler Kinder und ihre Geburtstagsgeschenke
(The Ziegler Kids and their Birthday Gifts)
Written by Matthew Mettam & Nikolai Nestorov / UCalgary
Illustrated by Jia Yi Ren
Edited by Miriam Siggelkow

K​önigin Chovy (Queen Chovy)
Written by Joshua Duha / UCalgary
​Illustrated by Salma Zein
Picture
© 2022 John H. G. Scott
Additional titles coming down the line:

Die Jahreszeiten
(The Seasons) / UMD
​
Wo ist der Hundepark?
(Where is the Dog Park?) / UMD

Wo sind meine Schuhe?
(Where are my Shoes?) / UMD

Die Familie Bär
(The Bear Family) / UMD

Zwei Katzen und ein Hund
(Two Cats and a Dog) / UMD

Das Abenteuer des Vögleins
(The Little Bird's Adventure) / DSaP @ PSU

About the BLFL Project

​The By Learners For Learners Kinderbücher open educational resource (OER) project, founded in 2022 in collaboration with teachers at the English-German K-6 bilingual program at Bowcroft School in Calgary, produces children's literature for K-6 language learners in the 170+ German-language schools across North America. This project is a collaboration between Dr. Roswita Dressler at the University of Calgary's Werklund School of Education and Dr. John H. G. Scott at the University of Maryland's School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. With initial grant funding from the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning (2023-2025), we have connected student authors and student artists to e-publish illustrated stories generated by the project as OERs under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

To date, students in German language courses at University of Calgary, University of Maryland, and the Deutsche Sommerschule am Pazifik at Portland State University have composed children's literature in German to meet the particular content and proficiency needs of bilingual children's education (as opposed to immersion or living in a Germanophone country).

By Learners For Learners conference presentations
December 2024: DACH-L Kultur im Sprachunterricht (AATG Fortbildung; College Park, MD, USA)
April 2025: Languages Without Borders (Montreal, QC, Canada)
May 2025: Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (Denton, TX, USA)
July-August 2025: Internationale Tagung der Deutschlehrer:Innen (Lübeck, SH, Germany)

Contact Dr. Roswita Dressler and Dr. John H. G. Scott (series editors) for more information!