Customer Reviews:
 One of the most rewarding additions I have made to my Spanish-learning collection August 15, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Having put in many hours trying to grasp the basics of Spanish through the use of fairly boring teach-yourself books, tapes, cd's etc, I bought this book in the hope that, as a learning tool, it might be interesting, entertaining or useful. It's all of those things, and more!
The format is simple. Each idiom gets one page and is introduced by an amusing cartoon depicting a typical circumstance of the expression's usage, using a visually literal interpretation of the actual words.
For instance, the English "to walk on thin ice" becomes in Spanish "to walk stepping on eggs" >> "andar pisando huevos". "To put all your eggs in one basket" becomes "to put all the meat on the spit" >> "poner toda la carne en el asador". The `walking on eggs' and the `meat on the spit' are the subjects of the cartoons. And so on.
Each page is rounded off by a brief (about 10 lines) essay or anecdote, in everyday Spanish, showing the expression in typical use. An English translation of each sketch is given at the back of the book.
Where does it score?
Well, the expressions are amusing and useful; the treatment is light and inviting, and the illustrations entertainingly explanatory of the metaphors involved. But for me the real bonus is that the little essays or sketches are written in wonderfully relevant, conversational-style Spanish, full of different examples of the language in normal use. That, for me, has been the most helpful aspect of the book. By reading and coming to an understanding of the language in action in these written pieces the door to conversational Spanish was opened a little bit more to me. In this regard in particular I cannot recommend this book highly enough to the early intermediate level student (of all ages).
It is one of the most rewarding additions I have made to my Spanish-learning collection.
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