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¿Qué ve Juan?

Level 1 - (Digital Only)

An entry level story, ¿Qué ve Juan? is offers a guided approach with its chapters divided into short segments. Written with high frequency vocabulary recycled throughout the text, each segment is supported with vocabulary displayed at the top. A variety of Interactive practice activities offer engaging repetition of key structures.

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Cuentos culturales collection

Level 1 - (Digital Only)
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Las lágrimas de Xóchitl

Level 1 / Early Level 2

When wild animals close in to stalk the remote village, no one in San Felipe is safe. After a vicious attach, Xóchitl’s responsibility becomes complicated when she must care for her injured brother while avoiding nosy neighbors. With her family and her dreams in jeopardy the rugged realities of Xóchilt’s daily life give her the resiliency to face disappointment, the danger of what lurks in the dark and the secret of B’alam.

Note to the Reader:

This book is written for level 1 or level 2 students, novice-low or novice–mid readers. The vocabulary is intentionally flooded with high frequency structures and cognates to easily invite language learners into the story. Family relationships, household responsibilities and sibling interaction are a cornerstone of the first few chapters.

Indigenous culture and traditional rural lifestyle is embedded in the novel underscoring the importance of historical ethnicity and the challenge that communities face as they struggle to maintain values and ancient practices. Readers share Xochitl’s view of her reality as she yearns for a more contemporary lifestyle. Her struggle is one that many modern young people face as they try to stay true to their ethnic heritage and history while balancing influences of the progressive world around them.


The story follows Xóchitl through joy, heart pounding danger and disappointment.

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Los sueños de Xóchitl

Level 2

Almost 15 years old, Xóchitl is desperate to experience life outside of her rural village in Guatemala. American magazines and English classes are a welcome distraction from her mundane existence of cleaning, cooking and caring for younger siblings. Her daydreams turn into reality when she is offered the incredible invitation to study in the United States.

Will Xóchitl be able to adapt to a lifestyle, climate and culture so different from what she knows?


Will this once in a lifetime opportunity be cut short by tragedy at home, her lack of money or mean girls at Roselawn High School?

Note to the Reader:

This book is the sequel to Las Lágrimas de Xóchitl. It is written and designed for novice-mid to novice-high readers or intermediate level Spanish students.

Although this book can be enjoyed on its own, it is recommended to read Las Lágrimas de Xóchitl first, in order to fully appreciate the cultural perspectives of the peo- ple and places portrayed in Los Sueños de Xóchitl.

Teachers should note that this book was intentionally designed to promote independent reading. If students have read and acquired the vocabulary and common structures found in Las Lágrimas de Xóchitl, they should be able to read this book with little support.

The glossary in Las Lágrimas de Xóchitl can be used for vocabulary help if needed, but the first half of Los Sueños de Xóchitl is written using the same structures. The second half of this book provides extensive footnotes with glossary items that may be unfamiliar.

The village, families and events in this story are a blend of real with imagined and ideology with fantasy. The rugged reality of the indigenous rural landscape is the backdrop for the hopes, dreams and disappointments that transcend the human experience.

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Soy Lorenzo

Level 3

As the angry shrieks of his mother’s voice jar Lorenzo awake, he becomes painfully aware of the beating that his body had endured the night before…an incident that he cannot remember. Tortured by the unknown Lorenzo cannot rest until he figures out what happened.

In his search for answers, a mysterious stranger changes the path of his future when he finds himself entwined in the sacred legends of his ancestors. Is it real or a spiritual encounter? You decide.

A Note to the Reader:

The setting for this story is a real place. It is also a place where some of my most vivid memories are stored. This is fiction. This is a short novel written with the intent of captivating and engaging language learners. It is a story of inquietudes, of self-search and of difficult life choices that we all face.


It is written for anyone to read. Piloting of the book has shown that Heritage Spanish speakers find this an intriguing dash-through story that provokes interesting and sometimes deep discussion. Language learners with some background in Spanish have especially enjoyed this book, as it is written with the intent to contain the vocabulary to an intermediate reader’s level. Students at a more novice level find themselves engaged in the book, enticed to read for meaning.


My hope is that everyone who reads this story becomes captivated and engaged in the book. This project has been my passion and now my dream is to share it with others. The thoughts, concepts and ideas presented are fiction, for the purpose of writing one good story. Please enjoy the read.

For Teachers

Teachers may find that this book holds a multifaceted curriculum providing the context to explore Social Studies topics from geography of Central America to the area’s complex geopolitics of the ‘80s. Science and math connections can be made to the tide and moon calendar and the physics of hurricanes. Current social and environmental issues in Moskitia will reveal countless heartbreaking topics from lobster to lumber exploitation and a look at human rights. This novel offers a platform to pique interest in a multitude of culturally rich topics to examine. In any design teachers will find a wealth of lesson possibilities and support materials in the teacher resources book.

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