The Mexican people are portrayed as stupid, Cortes is described as a valiant hero, and "Malinche" is used as a term of respect and admiration for the valiant beauty who helped Cortes conquer the backwards Mexican people! The essays even go so far as to insult the beliefs of the Aztecs, calling them "strange" and implying that their religion was silly.

These types of readings, however grammatically simple they may be, are counterproductive to the larger goal of understanding and appreciating the history and culture of Spanish-speaking people, particularly those in Latin America.

This book is blatantly bigoted and therefore, completely distracts the reader form the task of learning Spanish. I fear that new readers with limited exposure to Mexican history may, in the process of learning to read in Spanish, unknowingly accept this white supremist view of history.

I urge you not to purchase this reader, and to ensure that your children are not using this reader in their classrooms.