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Easy Spanish Stories #1
Spanish Short Stories for Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Spanish & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way!
Do you know what the hardest thing for a Spanish learner is?Finding PROPER reading material that they can handle…which is precisely the reason we’ve written this book!Teachers love giving out tough, expert-level literature to their students, books that present many new problems to the reader and force them to search for words in a dictionary every five minutes — it’s not entertaining, useful or motivating for the student at all, and many soon give up on learning at all!In this book we have compiled 20 easy-to-read, compelling and fun stories that will allow you to expand your vocabulary and give you the tools to improve your grasp of the wonderful Spanish tongue.How Spanish Short Stories for Beginners Each story will involve an important lesson of the tools in the Spanish language (Verbs, Adjectives, Past Tense, Giving Directions, and more), involving an interesting and entertaining story with realistic dialogues and day-to-day situations.The summaries a synopsis in Spanish and in English of what you just read, both to review the lesson and for you to see if you understood what the tale was about.At the end of those summaries, you’ll be provided with a list of the most relevant vocabulary involved in the lesson, as well as slang and sayings that you may not have understood at first glance!Finally, you’ll be provided with a set of tricky questions in Spanish, providing you with the chance to prove that you learned something in the story. Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to any — we will provide them immediately after, but no cheating!We want you to feel comfortable while learning the tongue; after all, no language should be a barrier for you to travel around the world and expand your social circles!So look no further! Pick up your copy of Spanish Short Stories for Beginners and improve your Spanish right now!
212 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 8, 2018
2533 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 32 reviews
April 5, 2018
Spanish Short Stories for Beginners is a collection of 20 short stories designed to help people learn the language. After each four-page story, there is a summary in Spanish and English. There is also a list of vocabulary words which appeared in bold text throughout the story. At the end are a few questions which test the reader's comprehension of the story. Answers follow.
This is not a book for absolute beginners. Some knowledge of the language is necessary, or the reader will have to use a Spanish dictionary for all the words that are not defined. Most of the story topics are more appropriate for teenagers or adults–not children. This is a very good supplement for those who wish to get more practice with Spanish. The free download of the video, 200 Useful Words and Phrases, is a nice bonus.
This is not a book for absolute beginners. Some knowledge of the language is necessary, or the reader will have to use a Spanish dictionary for all the words that are not defined. Most of the story topics are more appropriate for teenagers or adults–not children. This is a very good supplement for those who wish to get more practice with Spanish. The free download of the video, 200 Useful Words and Phrases, is a nice bonus.
November 8, 2019
Oh, boy. I like the concept and layout of this book.. A lot. However, it didn’t feel like it was for beginners! I had to read it with my phone in the other hand so I could constantly consult google translate! The vocabulary words were easier than many of the incidental words in the stories. Maybe it’s just me. I’m not an absolute beginner en Español, but these readings left me exhausted! Still, I think it’s a great idea, and much more useful than just memorizing vocabulary.
March 6, 2021
I wouldn’t say these stories are “captivating,” but my comprehension did improve. It would be more helpful if the vocabulary lists were at the beginning of each story or inserted as footnotes.
January 24, 2018
‘Believe in yourself and never be ashamed to make mistakes. Even the best can fall; it’s those who get up that can achieve greatness!’
Lingo Mastery has embarked on a mission – to make Spanish more accessible to a wider population. In the Introductory Note the goal is stated well: ‘So you want to learn Spanish? That’s awesome, reader. Spanish (or Castilian) is a Romance language spoken by over 570 million people around the world, and is recognized as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and many other organizations. It is also, impressively, the second most spoken native language in existence, after Chinese. The Spanish language originated in the Castile region of Spain around the 9th century, and slowly evolved into what it has become today with heavy Latin influences as well as Greek ones. Interestingly enough, it is also one of the few languages spoken natively on four different continents (North America, South America, Europe and Africa), and has a heavy influence within the Philippines (Asia). It may be important to note at this point that having a basic to intermediate level of Spanish may be an important tool for your professional future, as well as opening several doors for you on your resume if you feel the need to either migrate or work in a multi-cultural environment. Spanish speakers will usually appreciate your effort in having partially or fully learned their language, and they will happily collaborate with you in solving your doubts.’
Each of the twenty stories follows the pattern Resumen de la historia, Summary of the story, Vocabulary Questions about the story, and Answers. Or as the authors state, ‘Each story will tell a different tale involving unique, deep characters with their own personalities and conflicts, while ensuring that you understand the objective of the particular language device in Spanish. Verbs, Pronouns, Nouns, Directions, Time and Date; all of it will be covered in this Basic-level book for Beginners. At no point will we introduce concepts too difficult for you to grasp, and any complicated vocabulary will be studied at the end of each story.’
An example, in Story 1 Paseo por el parque – A walk through the park - the story (translated for demo) ‘A little boy named Pedrito decided to go to park for a walk alongside his dog, Fido. There, they watch a few children playing, as well as some animals in a lake. Fido suddenly begins to chase a cat, and the hunt causes them to tear through a flower garden and a cafeteria, causing problems all around. Finally, a park security guard appears to escort Pedrito and Fido away for being there without an adult, but the boy’s mother shows up in time to avoid any larger problems.’ This is but one of the well-written stories with the summary in both Spanish and English and the task of this tale is Vocabulary (very well define) and a series of questions about the story written in Spanish with the answers likewise in Spanish.
The stories vary, as do the lessons taught. This is a very fine introduction to Spanish, appropriate for all age levels, and a book much needed at this time in our national status!
Lingo Mastery has embarked on a mission – to make Spanish more accessible to a wider population. In the Introductory Note the goal is stated well: ‘So you want to learn Spanish? That’s awesome, reader. Spanish (or Castilian) is a Romance language spoken by over 570 million people around the world, and is recognized as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and many other organizations. It is also, impressively, the second most spoken native language in existence, after Chinese. The Spanish language originated in the Castile region of Spain around the 9th century, and slowly evolved into what it has become today with heavy Latin influences as well as Greek ones. Interestingly enough, it is also one of the few languages spoken natively on four different continents (North America, South America, Europe and Africa), and has a heavy influence within the Philippines (Asia). It may be important to note at this point that having a basic to intermediate level of Spanish may be an important tool for your professional future, as well as opening several doors for you on your resume if you feel the need to either migrate or work in a multi-cultural environment. Spanish speakers will usually appreciate your effort in having partially or fully learned their language, and they will happily collaborate with you in solving your doubts.’
Each of the twenty stories follows the pattern Resumen de la historia, Summary of the story, Vocabulary Questions about the story, and Answers. Or as the authors state, ‘Each story will tell a different tale involving unique, deep characters with their own personalities and conflicts, while ensuring that you understand the objective of the particular language device in Spanish. Verbs, Pronouns, Nouns, Directions, Time and Date; all of it will be covered in this Basic-level book for Beginners. At no point will we introduce concepts too difficult for you to grasp, and any complicated vocabulary will be studied at the end of each story.’
An example, in Story 1 Paseo por el parque – A walk through the park - the story (translated for demo) ‘A little boy named Pedrito decided to go to park for a walk alongside his dog, Fido. There, they watch a few children playing, as well as some animals in a lake. Fido suddenly begins to chase a cat, and the hunt causes them to tear through a flower garden and a cafeteria, causing problems all around. Finally, a park security guard appears to escort Pedrito and Fido away for being there without an adult, but the boy’s mother shows up in time to avoid any larger problems.’ This is but one of the well-written stories with the summary in both Spanish and English and the task of this tale is Vocabulary (very well define) and a series of questions about the story written in Spanish with the answers likewise in Spanish.
The stories vary, as do the lessons taught. This is a very fine introduction to Spanish, appropriate for all age levels, and a book much needed at this time in our national status!
July 2, 2018
Learning a foreign language is always a challenge, as Lingo Mastery points out in their helpful introduction: this is an easy and positive way to progress with your grasp of Spanish. The 10 short stories start with Peter, an undergraduate who is fulfilling his dream of travelling to Latin America. An interesting tale, told with warmth and humour. We learn over 200 words here. This is certainly providing the motivation I need to learn more and interesting Spanish. I shall definitely be buying more books in this series.
July 3, 2023
Warning for Spanish language beginners, this book is more of an intermediate level reading. The target audience is still people who want to learn the language, but dont be discouraged by the advanced level of the text. Some of the stories are more interesting than others but this is not great literature, its just fodder designed to expose you to Spanish. The most useful thing about the book structure is that it provides a summary in English and Spanish at the end of each story followed by some multiple choice questions. It also highlights some words and phrases (seemingly randomly) throughout the text that it later gives definitions for after the story.
July 21, 2019
I honestly cant believe how boring these stories were. Not only were all stupendously cheesy, they weren’t well written at all. Some had typos, some sentences were awkward, and most were simply trying to throw as many random vocab words in a paragraph as possible. Some of the vocab lists that came with the stories were also very weird, and lacked translations for all words? Its like no one proof-read the book.
If you want to learn another language, please dont read stuff like this. Read something from the language’s culture, history, or directly from its people on social media or TV. Stuff like this is a total waste of time.
If you want to learn another language, please dont read stuff like this. Read something from the language’s culture, history, or directly from its people on social media or TV. Stuff like this is a total waste of time.
October 21, 2022
Es mi premio libro que llego a leer en español. Me he gustado un mantón sin embargo algunas historias no eran interesantes. Además, tiene que hacer un nivel intermedio para poder entender este libro. Además, leer este libro sobre kindle era una idea muy bonita para buscar palabras difíciles sin perder más tiempo con el diccionario. Ahora estoy leyendo short stories de Olly Richard intermediate Spanish que me parece más interesante. In resumen, este libro es bien pero no es fácil para nuevos estúdienles de español.
November 18, 2019
Disregard "captivating" in the title -- the subject matter ranges from trivial to something akin to motivational -- but the goal here is to help you read in Spanish, and the book accomplishes that well.
October 24, 2018
I checked this book on amazon and here, and after being convinced with 4+ stars/points, I decided to go for it.
If you're a beginner, or somewhere between beginner and intermediate, I'd suggest you to leave this book and focus on learning more Spanish first.
The stories are generally short and they try to introduce a storyline, but unfortunately they bombard you with an extensive usage of words that are related to the target topic of the chapter. There were a lot of moments that I was checking the translations of the words in one kindle page, and marking more than 10-15 words in 3 paragraphs. After some time, I decided to use the kindle app for better translation, but the Bing translation that comes default with Kindle app just fails to translate. To be honest, I finished the book thanks to this translator, but it was utterly annoying when the translator could not translate a specific word/sentence (that happened several times). There were even bold written words (a.k.a. the newly introduced words/phrases), some of which were not translated at the end of the chapter! I'm not so sure if it was a simple reduction/editing error or not.
Anyways, the book introduces you a lot of words, for the sake of this, you might want to take a look. But honestly, I don't think I'd read it again, I believe it's a waste of time.
If you're a beginner, or somewhere between beginner and intermediate, I'd suggest you to leave this book and focus on learning more Spanish first.
The stories are generally short and they try to introduce a storyline, but unfortunately they bombard you with an extensive usage of words that are related to the target topic of the chapter. There were a lot of moments that I was checking the translations of the words in one kindle page, and marking more than 10-15 words in 3 paragraphs. After some time, I decided to use the kindle app for better translation, but the Bing translation that comes default with Kindle app just fails to translate. To be honest, I finished the book thanks to this translator, but it was utterly annoying when the translator could not translate a specific word/sentence (that happened several times). There were even bold written words (a.k.a. the newly introduced words/phrases), some of which were not translated at the end of the chapter! I'm not so sure if it was a simple reduction/editing error or not.
Anyways, the book introduces you a lot of words, for the sake of this, you might want to take a look. But honestly, I don't think I'd read it again, I believe it's a waste of time.
September 15, 2020
I have awarded this book three stars, but whether this is fair, I've really no idea, I've not anything to compare it too. I am teaching myself Spanish (at the age of 73) and I am using this book to help me expand my vocabulary and grammar. The first story was fairly easy. I am now reading the third story, which involves a young school boy called Emilio. He is something of the perfect student with pushy parents, and it relates to a "black list" or "lista negra" which is the way by which the teacher disciplines the children by threatening to put them on La Lista Nigra, with all sorts of imagined terrible consequences. I am finding the language much more difficult, with lots of past tenses and different constructions and phraseology. But as part of my learning, our neighbour is a delightful Chilean mother, and she's helping me once a week, for half an hour of discussion in Spanish, and half an hour to read one of the stories. If the difficulty of reading this third story is more typical of the standard of Spanish in the book ( I have not completed it), which is definitely intermediate and not beginner, then I'd recommend anyone learning Spanish in their early stages to do what I'm doing, and use it as part of a one to one lesson with a fluent Spanish speaker so that the real meaning can be more easily grasped. I think it could be a bit of a struggle otherwise.
June 19, 2021
I am currently reading this book and will be using it as my study guide for months and years to come.
It is one of the best books for studying Spanish and increasing one’s vocabulary.
With that being said, I will say it is NOT a book for beginners. I took Spanish classes in 5th through 10th grades, with the 7th through 10th grades being the most intense. So I have a very good base of Spanish. You need to have a good base to enjoy this book.
Even with my good base and a “dictionary” of many words in the book, I have my iPhone by my side with the Spanish Dictionary app to look up other words I do not know and that aren’t in the book’s dictionary.
So, even with my base of the Spanish language, I cannot breeze through this book. But I love it and am learning so much in a very enjoyable way. And that means reading a story and re-reading the same story until new words begin to be added to my vocabulary.
No one said it is going to be easy, but learning something new is never easy (like playing the piano) and practice, practice, practice is a must.
It is one of the best books for studying Spanish and increasing one’s vocabulary.
With that being said, I will say it is NOT a book for beginners. I took Spanish classes in 5th through 10th grades, with the 7th through 10th grades being the most intense. So I have a very good base of Spanish. You need to have a good base to enjoy this book.
Even with my good base and a “dictionary” of many words in the book, I have my iPhone by my side with the Spanish Dictionary app to look up other words I do not know and that aren’t in the book’s dictionary.
So, even with my base of the Spanish language, I cannot breeze through this book. But I love it and am learning so much in a very enjoyable way. And that means reading a story and re-reading the same story until new words begin to be added to my vocabulary.
No one said it is going to be easy, but learning something new is never easy (like playing the piano) and practice, practice, practice is a must.
August 12, 2025
Vergeleken met het eerdere shortstories-boek veel lastiger en andere opzet!
Elk hoofdstuk focust op een specifieke categorie: numbers, food & drinks, punctuation, place adverbs, pronouns en meer. Heel leerzaam, vooral sommige zoals punctuation — woorden voor komma, uitroepteken, hoofdletter, enz. leer je anders niet snel. Ook een plus dat je later makkelijk kunt terugbladeren naar wat je wilt oefenen
Wel vond ik het boek lastiger. Alle werkwoordsvormen worden door elkaar gebruikt. Zonder Google Translate of woordenboek (te lui voor, en de Kobo-Spaanse dictionary is waardeloos) was het te doen, maar met veel moeite — en daardoor ook minder leuk! In dit boek kwam ik er soms achter dat ik iets niet helemaal had begrepen/moest ik vaker dingen opnieuw lezen en dat was in het eerdere boek niet zo. Best vermoeiend maar goed wel leerzaam dus!
Elk hoofdstuk focust op een specifieke categorie: numbers, food & drinks, punctuation, place adverbs, pronouns en meer. Heel leerzaam, vooral sommige zoals punctuation — woorden voor komma, uitroepteken, hoofdletter, enz. leer je anders niet snel. Ook een plus dat je later makkelijk kunt terugbladeren naar wat je wilt oefenen
Wel vond ik het boek lastiger. Alle werkwoordsvormen worden door elkaar gebruikt. Zonder Google Translate of woordenboek (te lui voor, en de Kobo-Spaanse dictionary is waardeloos) was het te doen, maar met veel moeite — en daardoor ook minder leuk! In dit boek kwam ik er soms achter dat ik iets niet helemaal had begrepen/moest ik vaker dingen opnieuw lezen en dat was in het eerdere boek niet zo. Best vermoeiend maar goed wel leerzaam dus!
October 18, 2022
There are 25 short stories aimed at the beginning level.
The stories are quaint, not profound, geared to help the Spanish learner develop language skills. As someone who reads a lot of Spanish, has studied and practiced for years, and has been to Mexico many times, I was surprised how much new vocabulary there was.
Over all, I would place this book at a more intermediate level. Still, it would be good practice for someone not ready to tackle a novel. The stories are short, there are vocabulary lists at the end of each story. There are review questions. And each story is summarized in both Spanish and English.
The stories are quaint, not profound, geared to help the Spanish learner develop language skills. As someone who reads a lot of Spanish, has studied and practiced for years, and has been to Mexico many times, I was surprised how much new vocabulary there was.
Over all, I would place this book at a more intermediate level. Still, it would be good practice for someone not ready to tackle a novel. The stories are short, there are vocabulary lists at the end of each story. There are review questions. And each story is summarized in both Spanish and English.
April 29, 2021
I enjoyed it
I really liked reading the stories this collection had. They were entertaining, had so much variety, and the quizzes you took at the end were fun. So many new words... I understood most of the texts, though I still have trouble with the grammar and conjugation. It didn’t impede my comprehension much as I still got through with only a few bumps in the road towards the end. I can’t recommend this enough for new learners. If you looking for some good stories in Spanish, this’s definitely for you. Check it out.
I really liked reading the stories this collection had. They were entertaining, had so much variety, and the quizzes you took at the end were fun. So many new words... I understood most of the texts, though I still have trouble with the grammar and conjugation. It didn’t impede my comprehension much as I still got through with only a few bumps in the road towards the end. I can’t recommend this enough for new learners. If you looking for some good stories in Spanish, this’s definitely for you. Check it out.
January 16, 2022
This was a very good resource. The stories were a good length, so that I could get through them in a sitting. When I started the book I could barely get through one, but by the end I could do two without feeling like my brain was breaking.
The stories weren’t too boring - they weren’t something I’d read in English, but they were interesting enough for me to keep at it. I enjoyed the vocab reviews, too.
If you’re looking to improve your Spanish and your somewhere between beginner and intermediate, give this a go.
The stories weren’t too boring - they weren’t something I’d read in English, but they were interesting enough for me to keep at it. I enjoyed the vocab reviews, too.
If you’re looking to improve your Spanish and your somewhere between beginner and intermediate, give this a go.
January 10, 2024
It’s an engaging book, with simple, enjoyable short stories that will build your vocabulary. But contrary to its title, it’s not a beginner book. I think I’m beyond the beginner phase (maybe something like novice?) and I couldn’t go two sentences without consulting SpanishDict or Google Translate. That’s the reason for the three stars. But hey, if you want to take the time and tedious effort, it’s a good vocabulary builder!
May 23, 2019
Spanish
I used this book to work on reading Spanish more fluently and it helped a lot! Even though I didn’t understand everything the context and vocabulary at the end of each story helped.
I used this book to work on reading Spanish more fluently and it helped a lot! Even though I didn’t understand everything the context and vocabulary at the end of each story helped.
December 26, 2020
Very helpful short stories! I read it on ebook (and didn't even finish quite). It would have been more useful to me in a physical copy so I could flip between sections much more easily. I really liked the questions and stories, for the most part. I'd recommend it!
March 15, 2022
Interesting, current stories. Not exactly for beginners. Really enjoy reading each story and then listening to it. Nice challenges and good learning tool. Re-reading is good practice. Best in this category.
January 7, 2023
This is a good book for intermediate learners - not for beginners. Sometimes they throw in vocabulary just to use the vocabulary and not to add to the story. But, I enjoyed the stories and the quizzes at the end of each chapter.
April 16, 2023
This is NOT for beginners. At all. Horrible instruction. If I had maybe a year of spanish i could follow this. Long stories in Spanish followed by english translation. Useless since you can’t recall precisely how sentences are constructed. Buyer beware if you’re a beginner. Don’t waste your time.
Currently reading
February 18, 2020Definitely not for beginners!
December 11, 2020
Useful. Good set up, focusing on comprehension and not doing line translations. Good for language study at an intermediate level.
Read
February 8, 2021Good
June 15, 2021
Great to practice the reading skills in Spanish.
May 6, 2022
Great, digestible stories for a beginner level which introduce different vocabulary and grammatical concepts.
August 26, 2023
Excellent short stories that increases your vocabulary knowledge and improves reading skills in spanish.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 32 reviews