Written in Denmark, by a Dane, for children learning Danish from English.
Most Danish books for children are English books run through a translation service. This one was not. Every word, every pronunciation line and every page was made in Odense by someone who speaks the language and knows exactly where an English speaker gets stuck.
100 first words. Big, clear pictures. And a say line under every single one.
Danish spelling and Danish sound are two different things, and that is where most families give up before they start. Rød means red, and it sounds almost nothing like it looks. So every word in this book comes with a say line written in plain English spelling. You read it the way it looks, and you land close. No phonetic training, no audio app, no prior Danish.
INSIDE THE BOOK
100 everyday words across 10 themes: family, food, animals, colours, numbers, the body, clothes, home, outdoors and everyday phrases
A say line under every word, written for English speakers
A colour system that teaches en and et without a single grammar lesson
A two-page guide to Danish sounds, covering æ, ø, å and the famous soft d
The word for "the" shown on every page, because Danish sticks it on the end instead of putting it in front
Full word lists at the back, in Danish order and in English order
MADE FOR
Danish families raising children abroad. Grandparents passing the language on. Expat children starting børnehave or school in Denmark. Anyone with Denmark somewhere in the family tree who wants their child to have more than a surname.
A NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
The say lines rewrite Danish words using English spelling patterns. They are not the International Phonetic Alphabet and are not intended as formal phonetic transcription. Some Danish sounds have no English equivalent, and for those the say line gets you close rather than exact. That is a deliberate choice, and it is what makes this book usable by a parent who has never studied a word of Danish.
Close is good enough. Danes meet a child halfway every time.
Ages 3 to 7. Book 1 in the Danish with Jo & Friends series.
