Best Spanish Books for Beginners: 12 Books and Novels for Novices

We know how important reading is for language acquisition, but the input can’t just be comprehensible, it also needs to be compelling! It can be SO hard to find books for novices that are level appropriate and interesting to them. Today I’m going to share 12 of my favorite books for your exploratory and Spanish 1 students. Let’s chat Spanish books for beginners!

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Spanish Books for Beginners

Before I share the list, I wanted to note that these are in no particular order. Some of them I have shared in my Books for Spanish Language Learners playlist on Youtube, so if you’d like a closer look inside any of them, you can check that out here!

12 Spanish Books and Novels for Novices

• Papacito
• El capibara con botas
• No somos amigos
• La piñata de Renata
• Itipurú
• Soy Carlos
• Carlos Celebra
• Carlos Explora
• La familia de Federico Rico
• El ratón Pablito
• Arroz con cosas
• Mosca, ¡¡Mosca!!

Spanish Books for Beginners from Craig Klein Dexemple

These books are just so good for beginners! I love the little illustrations for tons of visual support. Both La piñata de Renata and El ratón Pablito are collections of short stories. I personally think that makes them even more novice friendly because they get quick wins as they finish each chunk of the book.

• Papacito
• La piñata de Renata
• La familia de Federico Rico
• El ratón Pablito

If you’d like to see more about this author, check out his interview here!

Spanish Books for Beginners from Camilla Given

These books from Camilla Given are so cute and approachable for your novices, but my favorite part of these books is that they are a series. I’ve learned from my library friends that a series is a great win for a beginning reader because if they like the first book in the series, it’s an easier option for them to pick up the next one and keep going!

• Soy Carlos
• Carlos Celebra
• Carlos Explora
• Carlos Viaja

Spanish Books for Beginners from Margarita Pérez García

I’ve shared a peek at some of these in my Books for Spanish Language Learners playlist on Youtube, but I have to just highlight the supports for novices in these books. The sections with important words and cognates at the front of the book, the context provided in English at the start of the book, and the vocabulary support right there next to each line is nothing short of amazing. Plus, the illustrations are great!

• Itipurú
• Arroz con cosas
• Mosca, ¡¡Mosca!!

Spanish Books for Beginners from Mira Canion

This one comes up over and over again as a recommendation for a full class novel – students think it’s hilarious! I’ve never had a chance to teach a whole class novel (check out tips from Allison here!) but it’s one that gets pulled for Free Voluntary Reading time constantly. There’s a great glossary for beginners, and the vocab is pretty sheltered for them.

• El capibara con botas

Spanish Books for Beginners from Jim Wooldridge (Señor Wooly)

This is a new one to me! I have several copies of Señor Wooly’s graphic novels and those were always a hit in the classroom library, but this picture book is a different style. There are only 34 unique words so it’s very approachable, and if your students are familiar with “Diego y sus amigos” they’ll like to see this prequel to the fun music video.

• No somos amigos

Spanish Books for Beginners: Books and Novels for Novices

We are so lucky that new books are being published all the time! If there’s any recommendations you have that you’d add to this list, I’d love to hear about them. Drop me a comment below to share!

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Learn more about readers and novels in Spanish class:

• How to Read a Novel in Spanish Class
• Free Voluntary Reading
• Classroom Library List
• Where to find reading materials for Spanish class
• Popular Recommendations for Readers in Spanish 1-AP