The choice of selections reflects the Spanish culture well and is excellent, often highly amusing, and arranged so that short and long selections are interspersed.

In the rear of the book, oral and written exercises regarding each selection are especially helpful if this book is to be used in the pedagogical setting. Additionally, a thorough vocabulary, referenced for the selections presented, rounds out this book.

Editor Angel Flores has done a remarkable job with this book. I would highly recommend it for the beginning Spanish student or those who wish to brush up on their prior Spanish.


Excellent first reader with a literary bent   September 6, 2002
 176 out of 181 found this review helpful

Classy and elegant are the first words that come to mind upon going through the first few pages of this book.

The book is a selection of stories, or their portions, from the original literature, ranging from the medieval times to the first half of the 20th century, and covering both Spanish and Latin American authors. In addition, it has an occasional interlude consisting of a short poem or a selection of proverbs to tempt the neophite into further exploring the richness of the Spanish language. Being a dual-langage book, the english translation of a story appears on a facing page. I found the translation of varying utility in nailing down the nuances, but the glossary at the end of the book is quite good, so one can read without a separate dictionary at least on the first pass.

The book generally avoids the use of subjunctive and introduces the past tense only in the middle. I had thought that this would make the stories look emaciated, as is the case with a number of such readers I'd seen. Somehow, it does not happen with Flores' delightful volume; if anything, it drives the point home that verbs is not all there is to a language, rich vocabulary and phraseology are just as important, and Flores' selections definitely get across that aspect of the beauty and expressiveness of the Spanish language.

As you work through this reader, more likely than not, your motivation to keep going with your Spanish and, furthermore, to get familiar with its rich literature, will be reinforced tremendously. It will also encourage you to venture into unabridged novels and stories in Spanish sooner than you had thought possible.

Finally, an attractive price helps make it a real winner.


Great for Beginners   March 13, 2003
 27 out of 27 found this review helpful

Excellent reader for beginners. It is broken in to "tense" sections, i.e. present tense, past, subjunctive, etc. I read it outloud with my tutor and it is very helpful. I would highly recommend it.


From a teacher's view, great value, good lessons in proverbs.   February 20, 2006
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

I bought this book to use in a Spanish Literature class for many age ranges. I decided against it because the English translation was too accessible to my students, and I feared that they would use it as a crutch.

However, for the more discplined, self-teachers, I recommend this book highly, as long as you read it aloud. If you want to speak Spanish, practice by Speaking Spanish. Great for mid-level speakers of ages eleven and up I'd say. For younger children, try Flip Flop Spanish.


First Spanish Reader, But Use With Care   March 14, 2006
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

This is an excellent reader for use in a class where the instructor assigns readings from it and subsequently goes over them in class. However, students attempting to learn Spanish on their own are reminded that good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar is very difficult to acquire simply via comparing a translated version of a story with the original.