Elementary Spanish readings

Washington Irving

Legends and travel sketches set in Granada. A gentle step up in vocabulary from pure graded readers, while still being widely used as an early "real literature" pick.

Juan Ramón Jiménez

Short, lyrical prose poems about a man and his donkey, from the Nobel-winning Spanish poet. Told in small, self-contained chapters that are easy to read a little at a time.

Jordi Surís Jordà

A short mystery from the University of Salamanca's "Leer en español" series, level two, about a strange pair of green shoes and the trouble they cause.

José Luis Ocasar Ariza, Ana Isabel Blanco Picado y Abel Murcia Soriano

A slightly longer Edinumen graded reader about strangers trapped in an elevator, written for readers who've outgrown the very simplest Beginner texts.

José Luis Ocasar Ariza, Abel Murcia Soriano, Eva García Rodríguez y Flavia Puppo

A character-driven Elementary story from the Edinumen graded-reader series, with the same pre-reading activities and comprehension exercises that run through the whole collection.

José Luis Ocasar Ariza, Abel Murcia Soriano y Pilar Díaz Ballesteros

A short Elementary mystery built around a mysterious white umbrella and the questions it raises, from the same Edinumen graded-reader line.

María Luisa Rodríguez Sordo, José Luis Ocasar Ariza y Abel Murcia Soriano

Another Edinumen Elementary reader, following a young woman's secret with the same format of pre-reading support and comprehension checks as the rest of the series.

Ana Martín

A short story about a hypochondriac named Sofía, written for "upper-beginner" Elementary readers ready for longer, more varied sentences than true Beginner texts.

Ana Martín

A second Elementary short story from the same author, following the same steady build in vocabulary and sentence complexity.

María Danader

A beach mystery pitched at "upper-beginner" Elementary level, with downloadable audio and a vocabulary index for readers moving past their first Spanish books.

Estefanía Quevedo Lusby

A short mystery about a bar regular and the puzzling woman he meets, explicitly marketed at Elementary "upper-beginner" level, with illustrations and accompanying music.

Juan Fernández

When a Spanish teacher goes missing, her students go looking for her -- a pre-intermediate mystery built to teach through context rather than grammar drills.

Juan Fernández

Set in London, this story follows a man's New Year's resolutions, including learning Spanish, in the same accessible, story-driven style as the author's other readers.

Francisco Jiménez

A real memoir (not written for learners) about a migrant farmworking family's childhood in California, told in short, clear scenes that make it a favorite bridge into authentic Spanish.

Neus Sans y Lourdes Miquel López

The second case in the Lola Lago series, a notch harder than the first, sending the detective to Havana on a new mystery.

Paco Ardit

A pre-intermediate entry in Paco Ardit's popular series, keeping the short-chapter structure of the Beginner books but stepping up the vocabulary and grammar.