Rating: - WORTH THE MONEY
This book was definitely worth the money to me. It's set up very well with the spanish on one side, the english translation on the other. Works especially well if you have a friend who is trying to learn english while you're learning spanish and they get the book as well (I got used and was very inexpensive). You can take turns reading while you each correct and improve each other's pronunciations! Pretty cheap and easy way to improve your pronunciation AND reading skills.

 

Rating: - Great Resource for Spanish Self-learners
I am a mature individual learning Spanish from several different resources,mostly free internet sites,of which their are many.
I am utilizing interactive and ipod downloads,quizzes,conversations etc.
on line,and I am learning a lot from them. But,I felt the need for
an actual book,(but not a textbook),with English translation,and the "Reader" is exactly what I was looking for. It's vocabulary is adult,and the stories so far are charming and interesting and give insight into the Spanish culture,past and present.


 

Rating: - Not for Beginners
This book is not for beginners for sure. One needs to know the basics before you buy this one. For me, I'd say waste of money.

 

Rating: - Helps extend your knowledge
Great book with traditional stories that give you an insight into South American culture through language. What's best about this book is that it also has target questions about each of the stories that help you to extend your understanding of the text. There are a variety of stories of different lengths which means it's not too daunting. A great buy- I was more than impressed

 

Rating: - Me gusto mucho este libro!
I found this book most helpful in reviewing my knowledge and understanding of Spanish. I could attempt to read the passages in Spanish and then seen if I had understood them correctly by then reading the English version. It is a wonderful resource for intermediate and advanced students of the Spanish language to help reinforce what they have learned, and also exposes non-native speakers to the rich Latino literary culture.

Rating: - bilingual parables
I was hoping for something different. The parables are not i nteresting for high school kids. The stories are not laid out for best bilingual appreciation.

 

Rating: - Does what I bought it for.
I bought this book to help me with my vocabulary and in learning some more slang and sentence structuring. It does all of that very well. But, if you are looking for "interesting" short stories, I would look elsewhere. I look forward to memorizing the new phrases that I have underlined in this book... really helpful.

 

Rating: - well-organized
The format is friendly for those trying to improve their Spanish. The stories are leveled, and the verb tenses vary in the stories. Besides its educational value, it's just plain fun as well.

 

Rating: - Not too hard, not too easy, just right
This book was just what I hoped for: short stories in relatively easy Spanish, with facing English text to check when you're not sure you understand something. Resist the temptation to "cheat" and you'll find you understand a lot more than you think you do. If you've learned almost exclusively spoken Spanish, as I have, you sometimes have to look carefully at a word and think about it before you slap your forehead and say, "Por supuesto! Yo entiendo." Enjoy

 

Rating: - Great book for beginners
I bought several books similar to this one, and this particular book is great if you are just starting. The sentances are short and most of the words and tenses are pretty simple in the beginning. The difficulty level progresses through the book, but still a good place to start if you don't know much spanish. Several of the other books were designed for people who have had more than a year of spanish.
 

Rating: - First Spanish Reader
Excellent resource for beginning to intermediate students of the Spanish Language. With Spanish and English versions on opposing pages it is easy to check your translation without the constant referral to a dictionary. In addition the stories, idioms and proverbs give you an insight into the culture.

 

Rating: - Excellent book for advanced beginner or low intermediate
Although the title says this is a book for beginners I would say it is better suited to the advanced beginner or low intermediate student. If you are a true beginner you will just spend a lot of time going back and forth between the English and the Spanish. Before taking on this book make sure you have at least the basic grammatical concepts down (conjugations of present tense verbs for example) and have mastered some vocabulary. That said, First Spanish Reader is a great book. The selected stories are interesting and the progression from basic verb tenses in the early stories to more complicated ones in the later stories is very effective. And of course the price is right.

 

Rating: - First Spanish Reader
I like the book and the stories. I bought it for my daughter to learn both languages(her English is sufficient) as we are not English nor Spanish native speakers. The only thing missing in the book is a simple table of Spanish pronunciation. That would be a great help for a beginner. Other than that, the book is very good!

 

Rating: - Not mainstream
I was very disappointed in this reader. The stories are all old fables with antiquated language...less helpful for the modern reader.

A few of these old stories are charming....but they soon lose their charm when you hit your ninth or tenth one.

I would recommend a more contemporary book that would suit the average taste....this one is not for everybody.

 

Rating: - Absolutely LOVE IT!
This book is a great way of learning new words in context. What I love about it is the proverbs section, it is amazingly interesting. The stories are short and very funny and meaningful. If you are studying Spanish this book is a must for those who want to learn new words.

Rating: - my first spanish reader
I have only read 2 chapters but so far , it's very helpful and easy to read.


 

Rating: - A great book, but not a beginner's book.
This is an excellent book. The use of Spanish is very consistent with authentic styles of expression. The primary issue however, is that this is not a book for beginners. I studied Spanish in high school, and then returned to serious study starting five years ago. I now take a private advanced Spanish class and teach Spanish to beginners at a community adult school. I rate this book at an intermediate level. Beginners won't be able to understand it well and this will cause needless frustration and discouragement. I've worked in this book with another advanced student who also teaches beginning Spanish and we have concurred that the vocabulary alone is above the beginner level, not to mention the colloquial grammar (i.e. this book does not limit itself to the simple grammar that beginning students have learned from the typical Spanish language textbook)... The title should be: Spanish Reader for Intermediate Level Spanish Students. Not as elegant, but far more accurate.

 

Rating: - a slow pace
I gave this book 3 stars because the pace is a little slow. There's plenty of advanced vocabulary right from the beginning but you have to wait 16 stories before you even get to the past tense (And who wants to read in the present tense for 15 pages?). If this is for beginners they should tone down the vocab usage in the beginning; keep it simpler. If it's for intermediate students they should pick up the pace grammatically. However, there's plenty of reading to go through after the grammar does catch up and so it's not as bad as it seems.

 

Rating: - good reader
I'm a real beginner, and this is a great help in putting my little bit of knowledge in context. I have to cover the facing (English) page because my eyes tend to wander, but that's easy. I look up a lot of words. If I look up enough, maybe I'll know Spanish by the end of the book.

 

Rating: - I like it...with certain reservations
This book is inexpensive, has an intersting assortment of parables, proverbs and short-stories, and is graded to get progressively more difficult as you read it.

For what it's supposed to be, I think it's an excellent choice.

My only reservation is that it was originally published in 1964. In my experience studying Japanese, I know that language can go through many changes through the decades, so I'm just curious if the language is "current" or a bit "dated."

I wouldn't hesitate to purchase it, though. At the price it's definitely worth it.

Rating: - I haven't actually used this yet, but...
I will soon get it. I may change my rating after I actually use it. I just wanted to give some information. It looks like this book is part of the Great Spanish Literature set, along with Cuentos españoles and Spanish Poetry: A Dual-Language Anthology 16th-20th Centuries. So, you can get a three-book set for less than the price of two purchased separately.

 

Rating: - Great little book
I love the little folk tales in this book! Its a fantastic book for Spanish review and practice. Very easy to check yourself and translate vocabulary because of the accurate English translations. There are comprehension questions in Spanish at the end, as well as English "story starters' to practice your English to Spanish translation.

 

Rating: - Very helpful
I am studying Spanish and I use this book to judge how many more words that I have learned. I like the book.

 

Rating: - A Beginner's Dual-Language Book
I was intrigued at how I imagined a dual language book to work, it was well versed, and has a great selection of writings. This was very enjoyable as a bedtime reader and since the writings were by different people, you get exposure to a number of uses in verbs as well as sentence structure, of which you can not get using a single study course.

 

Rating: - first Spanish reader
I like having the English along with the Spanish. It helps to understand the idomatic phrases as well as vocabulary. The stories are interesting also.
 

Rating: - Great supplement to audio
This is a great resource for learning how to read well in Spanish and I think it will even aid in eventually being able to directly understand and think in Spanish. I especially like the oral and written practices in the back of the book for each story. This makes it a valuable program for developing reading comprehension and verbal skill that works great in collaboration with other programs for verbal fluency and listening skills. However, there is nothing really to check your answers with, so it's better if you know a native speaker who can check your work.

 

Rating: - First Spanish Reader, But Use With Care
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.

 

Rating: - First Spanish Reader
I purchased this book for my sponsored child in Costa Rica. She says it has helped her in learning more English by comparing the opposite pages in Spanish and English.

 

Rating: - From a teacher's view, great value, good lessons in proverbs.
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.

 

Rating: - first spanish reader,dual language
the spanish english translation is excellent.. contains very interesting and short captivating stories of 1 to 2 pages. contains translated common proverbs.. It is a small book that is instructive and entertaining. I highly recommen it
 

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