Stories from Mexico : Historias de Mexico (Paperback)

by Genevieve Barlow (Author), William Stivers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
These 16 legends, drawn from 1500 years of Mexican history are told in Spanish and English, on facing pages, and with end vocabulary lists in both languages.

Language Notes
Text: English, Spanish (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844208116
• ISBN-13: 978-0844208114
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #13 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > European > Spanish & Portuguese
  #30 in	Books > Nonfiction > Education > Bilingual
  #48 in	Books > Nonfiction > Education > Education Theory > History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to enjoy reading Spanish for an intermediate, December 9, 1998

By A Customer

Because the stories are ancient stories that reflect themes still used in modern Latin America the reading is interesting for older readers while still being easy enough for beginners and intermediates. Reading is much more pleasurable when, in difficult sections, one doesn't have to go searching through a separate dictionary. Translations are not literal and therefore instructive in phraseology. I found this to be a refreshing alternative. I can suggest a new magazine out called Mi Gente which also does English and Spanish side by side on current Latin American issues.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Spanish Starter, January 7, 2001

By	Charles Eggerstedt (Coral Gables, Florida) - See all my reviews

This soft-covered book of 140 pages contains 16 Mexican legends spanning >1500 years. These are easy, enjoyable stories to read, especially appropriate for the early Spanish learner. Having side-by-side English translation is immensely helpful [though in the back of the book there is an additional appropriate dictionary]. Few of the complicated Spanish verb forms, viz., subjunctive, are found which is a minor point. All the legends are popular Mexican legends, appropriate for young and old.

I have only one reservation with one story [content]: #16, The Bed of Roses [Un lecho de rosas] which manages to portray Hernan Cortez as a victim of this own army in his reluctance to torture the Aztec leaders Cuautemoc and Tacuba for their treasures. One can only sigh and agree with the wag who stated that history is strictly written by the victors.

Nevertheless, the short stories are on the whole easy, entertaining and informative for all who wish to either brush up or test Spanish as a second language. I suggest purchasing this reasonably priced book if these are your goals.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for improving Spanish reading skills, November 2, 2001

By	Ron Hoglund "RH" (Belleville, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Stories from Mexico/Historias de Mexico is a wonderful book for improving Spanish reading skills. In fact, the other two books in the series, Stories From Spain and Stories From Latin America are equally great. Each book makes wide and varied use of vocabulary so that each one of the books teaches new words. The translations are usually extremely faithful, which is important when the point is to build vocabulary knowledge and not literary beauty. These books are even great for teaching English to Spanish speaking ESL students. While spending my summer in Costa Rica I used Historias de Mexico with one of my English students and she loved it. The stories are short, so one does not become frustrated and they are very entertaining. Buy this book! I would LOVE to see a professional recording come out on this series.