First Spanish Reader: A Beginner's Dual-Language Book (Beginners' Guides)

Decades ago I bought this book as a spanish learner in a book shop near where I live. That spanish language book shop is long gone so when the dog went after my copy that was out because my wife is now learning, I was disenheartened but Amazon came to the rescue though I do miss they old cover art my scribbled margin notes. There's a reason this book has been in print for decades. The stories are classic, charming, from authentic spanish language sources yet still are quite accessible and well ordered in difficulty AND length. The first stories are from 1-5 paragraphs and towards the end they are several pages long. Most of them lean towards parables and folk tales with humorous twists that make them fun to read more than once. In 2023 the spanish tilts toward an older style sort of like how Mark Twain's prose sound a little strange today but that doesn't mean that it's hard to understand like trying to read Don Quixote or Lazarillo de Tormes. This is a wonderful aid to learning spanish or as stories to read to young learners of spanish. I highly recommend it.

This book offers a good amount of challenge. when you begin reading the book and open it up, you find the left side pages are written in español and the right right side is written in english. Its nice that if you get lost or encounter a new word you simply look to the right side and find the translation of the prase or the word. I am considering highlighting through the book as i go. so that at a later time i could have quick reference or write the words out to flash cards for easier memorization. Also near the back of the book there are quizes, and short dictionary that has many of the "stuck" words you encounter. this book is very inexpensive and offers alot. The stories are good old stories that have a moral to the story. Also its something different it takes your mind off of learning and lets it happen without thinking about it, while you fixate on the story. i like the book alot and for 2.50 i cant see how anyone could pass up. I think anyone reading this review should atleast try it out, the worst case you will be out a few bucks. i would say its intermediate level. Good luck

While recommended for the beginning student, the selections in this book still necessitate some previous Spanish study and/or exposure. I would say that the student using this book needs to have 18 months of language study or have been immersed in a foreign culture for several months. What is imperative is that the learner has an adequate base of vocabulary. If the learner lacks an adequate base, even with this book, you will be forced to stop and examine/cross reference the English translation every other word. That requires times and can quickly become tiresome. I think this is a good book but the learner needs to have an adequate base of vocabulary and adequate exposure to verb tenses to use this book efficiently. Pros: 1.The book doesn't throw it all at you - The book is progressive in nature by focusing on present tense and than moving to imperfect, preterite, conditional and future. The subjunctive is not used in this book. 2.Good for self study - You don't need a dictionary or a professor to go through this book. You can practice reading and practice identifying verb forms and vocabulary on your own because you have the Spanish and English version side by side. 3.You will acquire a sense of Hispanic literature - These are genuine pieces of Hispanic literature and poetry that expose the learner to a mix of authors. If you dislike one author, it is easy to move on to the next. 4.Manageable to process - This book is small and easy to pack. The selections are also short. The pieces rarely exceed five pages making this a good book to use for study at the doctor's office or during the lunch hour. 5.Additional exercises are provided - There are additional exercises which could be useful for a professor or teacher to give to a student. For the person reading this on their own, these exercises may be not be ideal since answers are not provided. The exercises are based on the pieces in the book and students are asked to answer Spanish questions orally in Spanish and to translate English sentences into Spanish. While using this book, I recommend having a stack of colored note cards or spiral bound index cards (mead sells these). While processing passages, note verbs you do not know of a particular colored card and nouns on another to create a flash card set. This book is manufactured in the United States.

I love this book, I read it often and have had it for years at this point. Some stories are short, others longer. You can skip around of course and mix things up. But it’s so nice to see the translation on the other side. It’s so helpful when trying to understand sentence structure and overall comprehension. Highly suggest.

I wouldn’t consider this a beginner’s reader and most definitely not the “first” reader. It’s more appropriate as an intermediate reader after the learner has already learned all of the grammar rules and have a sufficiently large vocabulary of basic words. Lacking this foundation, a true beginning student would find it necessary to look up the dictionary and a grammar reference guide frequently to the point of exhaustion. I imagine that most beginning students would quickly lose interest after reading the first three or so stories. That said, this book is far from useless. I think it’s ideal for a student transitioning from beginning to intermediate level. The book is a compilation of classic stories, fables, proverbs and short essays by famous people. It’s also useful for advanced student learning the art of professional translation because of the nicely done parallel texts in Spanish and English.

You cannot and should not use this book to learn Spanish. Take the time to learn all the verb tenses, the grammar, etc., and after you have comfortably completed the equivalent of three semesters of college Spanish (e.g., all 14 verb tenses, incl. past perfect subjunctive), then you can try a reader like this one. Who cares if some of the words are antiquated? It will help you learn etymology and the history of the language. And for the people who have problems with the Kindle version, adjust your font size and page width, and then you only have to flip one page to see the English. If you were really ready for a reader, you wouldn't need the English translation much anyway. Regarding the Esclava Perezosa story, I think that it is funny. The servant does whatever he wants, and the master is powerless to change his behavior. It's based on a 13th century parable, so try not to impose modern norms and beliefs on people who lived 900 years ago, if you are able.

I really enjoyed the stories in this book. While a few were familiar fables, there also were some very unusual stories with different twists for endings. I especially enjoyed Por Qué Muchas Personas No Figuran en el Censo, a hilarious story about a poor census taker trying to get a straight answer from a chatty housewife. The last story about a train station guard revealing the deceptive nature of traveling by trains to a hapless traveler could be the basis for a Stephen King novel. I felt more comfortable with the Spanish as I worked my way through the book and I think it has definitely helped my vocabulary. For words I didn't know, I either used the Kindle built-in dictionary (with definitions in Spanish, so not always helpful) or the Kindle translation, but then I was able to scan over the English translation every few paragraphs to make sure I had understood correctly or to get myself back on track if I was completely confused. Unlike some dual-language books, the English translations in this book were excellent. I will definitely order the next book in this series.

I am still reading this little dual language book. I find it not only fun and entertaining, but also educational because besides learning the language you also learn about the local culture and peculiar language expressions or "old sayings" or proverbs. The compendium of short stories is great because if you are short on time you can just read a couple of stories as opposed to read a long novel and then after you put it down you have to remember where you left it off when you resume your reading... The small size is great too so you can enjoy it anywhere. Do not expect however a literal translation. Sometimes I still need to look at the dictionary for the meaning of a specific word in sentences that were translated for their overall meaning, however it does not happen too often. I think it is a good buy and certainly worthy the small price.

Des histoires courtes, amusantes, faciles à lire. Des pensées d'auteurs, des proverbes.

A companion for Spanish learners

Fantastic! Love the stories! Equipped with so much comedy and irony and wit. Easy to read and really quirky. Both of us love this book.

This book is okay, but it’s from 1965 so a lot of the language used is not common now. This makes it less useful for a beginner.

Es fácil y muy interesante, perfecto