Spanish-language novels

[Kelly Farrow]

Hi! Can anyone recommend some HS-level Spanish-language novels that would be fairly easily accessible through Amazon? I have a parent from a homeschool group I used to teach asking for some good recommendations, but I've been out of the Spanish teaching world awhile! Even some good recommendations of publishers she could order through might help as well.

[Sean]

I think Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes in Spanish as well as English. You might want to check that out.

[Marcela Toledo]

Hello,

I recommend you Ernest Heminway's The Old Man and the Sea, well, El Viejo y El Mar, it is delicious writing it in Spanish. Also, Colmillo Blanco --Call of the Wild, by Jack London. Both books for kids are great. There are many books in Spanish but at this moment I cannot think. Good Luck,

Marcela Toledo

[Anne Gaspers]

I definitely would suggest that you have your parent try the Continental Book Company (www.continentalbook.com) They have a very comprehensive catalogue and decent prices for individual books. They are based out of Denver and you can definitely get lost in their bookshelves if you are lucky enough to be a language teacher and allowed to browse. Scholastic Books has a Club Leo...look under teacher resources and Book Clubs. I've gotten a lot of children's and young adult books from them...but most of these are translated from English to Spanish.

Abriendo Paso: Lectura is my favorite Spanish literature textbook. (www.pearsonschool.com) It has great short stories, poems and articles from a variety of modern and classical authors. It is used at my school as an AP and IB text.

bbcmundo.com is a great resource for current event articles and I've found some ridiculous things on there that spark great conversation.

The books below are some that we use for our IB (International Baccalaureate) and Native Speakers classes.

García Marquez: Los funerales de Mama Grande, Cronica de una muerte anunciada (Level 4/5)
Francisco Jimenez: Cajas de carton, Senderos fronterizos (very accessible text for Level 5/AP/IB)
Horacio Quiroga: Cuentos de la selva (short stories and good for Level 3/4)

[Ryan Goble]

Sean, Marcela, and Anne,

Thanks so much for jumping in and helping out! You collectively are the "bestest"!

Gracias!

RRG:)

[Andrew S. Rodgers]

This is a good resource:

http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp#quicksearch

If you enter the title of a text, it offers the reading level. I do realize that it is subjective to the extent that the reader's interest and prior knowledge can alter accessibility significantly, but it works as a basic resource. The issue I would see is matching the student's ability to read in the second language while also choosing literature that remains engaging. For example, the student might only be able to read at fourth grade level in Spanish, but they aren't interested in Captain Underpants. (or are they??)

Also to be considered the degree to which they are reading to achieve a greater understanding of a concept versus reading as an exercise in fluency. As Stephen Krashen would suggest, interest is #1 when reading in a second language for the sake of language acquisition. I got a free subscription to People en Espanol, but, unfortunately, it is a little too brain dead for me.

There is a decent number of Spanish books in there, but an English edition is generally about the same reading level. I would imagine any significant work of American Literature would have an accessible Spanish translation, though the best scenario involves something written originally in the Spanish language.

Hope this helps.