Books for Beginners to Advanced Learners

From studying hiragana and katakana to being able to read and understand advanced stories in Japanese - that's what my books are for!

My career as a book author began when my students asked me for recommendations on how to improve their reading abilities. You might say that manga and children's books would be a good idea. However, they are not useful for beginners as they are written for native speakers. This means the language used includes grammar and vocabulary that is still too difficult for beginners and could easily discourage learners. Graded readers are available but do not feature (indepth) explanations and vocabulary lists and therefore are not suitable for selfstudy.

This was the time when my first book "Reading Japanese for Beginners" came into existence and was an immediate success. The original German version has been sold for over 8,000 times. The number of sold copies of currently available books (in German) has reached over 20,000.

Together with my team of native English speakers and the help of my students, I am currently translating and adjusting all books to the needs of English language speakers.

Books available on Amazon

Reading Japanese for Beginners (JLPT N5)

Practice hiragana and katakana while expanding your vocab and grammar knowledge with two fun stories. Get to know Kana, a Japanese highschool student and Sabrina who takes you along to her first trip to Japan.

The book features grammar explanations for every sentence, vocabulary lists for every page, translations as well as writing and listening exercises. The first story is suitable for beginners who want to read their first Japanese story. The second story builds on the skills that you have aquired after reading story one and is a tad bit more difficult. This way, you can directly see your improvements!

Furthermore, the book has a grammar overview section for beginners, common greetings and a section with knowledge about everyday life in Japan.

Currently working on:

• Writing Japanese for Beginners (available soon)
  Hiragana, katakana, +300 basic words, introduction to basic grammar, how to write your name in Japanese
  picture mnemonics for every single character, including common writing mistakes, varied exercises to help you memorize characters and words

• Japanese Grammar for Beginners
  The grammar extention of "Writing Japanese for Beginners" with a unique way of combining already learned words with new grammar and example sentences to deepen your understanding of word usage and sentence structure.

• Japanese Fairytales for Beginners (JLPT N5)
  This is the follow up book for "Reading Japanese for beginners." It uses the same effective way of explaining grammar and vocabulary of every sentence of the two fairy tales. This way you can read Japanese effortlessly (sura-sura in Japanese) and don't even realize that you are learning. The included audio files for the stories and vocabulary lists are the perfect tool to also improve your listening and speaking skills. With several writing exercises, the book covers all aspects of the Japanese language.

• Reading Japanese for slightly Advanced Learners (JLPT N4)
  The same learning approach as the other readers is now combined with stories about Japanese culture and holidays/festivities. Learn about the most important ceremonies throughout the year, with special focus on the Japanese New Year. The book also features an easy to follow Oshougatsu (New Year) recipe.

• Reading Japanese for Advanced Learners (JLPT N3)
  Get to know Nanami, the daughter of a local bakery, and Naoki, a cute but a teensy bit eccentric wasabi researcher. Follow them along through every day life in Japan as they get to know each other.
  This ongoing book series features 4 short stories each month that let you immerse yourself in Japanese culture and throughout the year. While reading you further deepen your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. The first book covers Nanami and Naoki's adventures in January and February.