30 Books About Spain for All Ages

In a land far away, on the other side of the mountains, next to an enchanted castle, grows a tree with three golden oranges. Three brothers -- Santiago, Tomás, and Matías must travel to this tree in order to find a wife.

Once they reach their destination, they must carefully pick the oranges and bring them back to the old woman who lives by the sea. The woman's advice is as follows: "In order to find your wives, you will need to work together. Woe to you if you do not follow my advice!" Each brother has ideas about what they want in a wife, but will they be able to put aside their differences and work together? A cute fairy tale that children will enjoy.

This collection includes nineteen fantastic fairy tales for children.

The Little Matador comes from a long line of bullfighters, but he would rather draw a bull than fight one! Despite his father’s efforts to get him to follow tradition, the Little Matador spends most of days daydreaming and sketching animals in the meadow. 

One day his father decides enough is enough, and his son is dragged into the bull ring. What happens is heartwarming and will charm every listener.

This book is one of my childhood favorites and I have fond memories of reading it with my grandma. Ferdinand is the world's most peaceful and beloved little bull. While all of the other bulls snort, leap, and butt their heads, Ferdinand is content to just sit and smell the flowers.

Katie is very excited—her birthday is coming, and she will be having a fancy dress party! She would really like to dress up as a princess, but Grandma can’t seem to get her costume quite right. Maybe a trip to the art gallery will provide some inspiration.

"Once, there was a man who went crazy from too much reading. He only read books about knighthood; that was the problem." This is a charming retelling of Don Quixote de la Mancha. Young people will delight in the hilarious adventures of the idealistic would-be knight and his "squire," Sancho Panza, as they set out to right the wrongs of the world.

His home is Catalonia, a place of jagged mountain peaks and silvery olive trees, splashed by the sparkling sea. The wild beauty of this landscape makes a deep impression and he will use the inspiration for the rest of his life.

Gaudí becomes an architect, learning the rules of form and structure that buildings are supposed to follow. Shapes and colors of the natural world still inspire him, and so he begins to work them into his buildings. Leaves climb up walls. Columns are giant animal feet. A playground bench becomes a snake. Antoni Gaudí turned nature into art, and in the process he revolutionized the world of architecture.

This book examines the life and work of the renowned twentieth-century artist, describing and giving examples from his various periods or styles.

Lola is a young Spanish girl in awe of her glamorous older sister. However, she discovers her own talent and duende, or spirit, through secret fandango lessons from her father. The text is infused with the rhythms, movements and sounds of the dance celebrating her family's culture.

This is not a book, but it is a great tool for teaching some basic Spanish words.

Oscar winning writer-director Guillermo del Toro and bestselling author Cornelia Funke come together to transform the movie "Pan’s Labyrinth" into an epic and dark fantasy novel. The book is complete with haunting illustrations and enchanting short stories that flesh out the folklore of this fascinating world.

Spain in the 15th century is a richly multicultural society in which Jews, Muslims, and Christians co-exist. Under the zealous Christian Queen Isabella however, the country abruptly becomes one of the most intolerant places on Earth.

It is in this atmosphere that the Benvenistes, a family of scribes, attempt to make a living. The family has a secret, they are conversos: Jews who converted to Christianity. Now, with neighbors and friends turned into spies, fear hangs in the air.

Isabella is a teenager when she becomes part of a plot to dethrone her half brother, King Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she is torn between loyalties. But, at the age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain.

To secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves, Fernando, prince of Aragón. This is the story of their uniting the different kingdoms of Spain and the struggles that ensued.

Set during the Spanish Civil War, sixteen-year-old Drina yearns to dance flamenco. When she dances, she forgets who she is. Why does her mother forbid her to dance, the very thing that makes her feel alive? She wonders about the secrets her mother holds, about the rumored life she had before Drina was born—a story that somehow still holds them both prisoner.

King Shahryar kills a new wife every night, because he worries she will stop loving him. But his new bride Shahrazad has a clever plan to save herself. Her nightly stories--of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba, and many other heroes and villains--are so engrossing that King Shahryar has to postpone her execution again and again...

Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's thoughts as the entire town of Arcangel is waiting for the day Manolo will follow in his father's footsteps.

However, Manolo is a coward, without afición, the love of the sport that gives the bullfighter the power to rise above his fear. As his first bullfight is on the horizon Manolo finds himself questioning which requires more courage: to follow in his father's legendary footsteps or to pursue his own dreams?

It's wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. From the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning.

With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist--a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden--an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Born amid her parents’ ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life.

When tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself thrown into a battle for power against her husband. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and

In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the what has been called his greatest novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. 

This is the tale of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an anti-fascist unit in the Spanish mountains. It tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat and stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

This is a great book to read if you're visiting the Alhambra in Granada. We used it as a read aloud for our kids, but it could be read independently as well. "Tales of the Alhambra" is a collection of essays, verbal sketches and stories about the Moors and Spaniards. Through these stories we learn of the author's journey through Andalusia, where he gives a general description of the country and people.

The collection consists of around 30 Tales about the Alhambra, the city castle of the last Moorish rulers in Al-Andalus. This is considered one of the most important works of Washington Irving.

At age twelve, Sira Quiroga sweeps the floors at the dress shop where her single mother works as a seamstress. At fourteen, she begins her own apprenticeship.

By the time she is twenty, she has learned the ropes of the business and is engaged to a modest government employee. Everything changes when two charismatic men burst into her life: an attractive salesman and the father she never knew.

Arnau Estanyol arrives in Barcelona to find a city dominated by the construction of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar, the marvel of the city. As a young man, Arnau joins the powerful guild of stoneworkers and helps to build the church.

With time, Arnau prospers and falls secretly in love with a forbidden woman. But when he is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with the possibility his luck is about to end.

The book has been made into a series for Spanish televison and I highly recommend watching it if you have a chance.

Lorca is admired the world over for the lyricism and beauty of his poetry. Spanish folk traditions of his native Andalusia and Granada, gypsy ballads, and surrealists Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel can be seen throughout Lorca's work.

The Posts are headed to Mallorca to celebrate two milestone events; the parents anniversary and their daughter's recent high school graduation.

The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, promise an escape from the tensions at home. Unfortunately, it doesn't all go to plan. Over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light and old wounds are exacerbated.

This Gothic tale is set in Barcelona, 1945. The city is slowly healing in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, a book dealer’s son mourning the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by Julián Carax.

When he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love. One of my all time favorite books!

What's not to love about a book about romance and flamenco? This is the story of a Brit who wants to become a Spanish guitarist falling in love with a flamenco dancer. The rest, as they say, is history.

No sooner had Chris Stewart set eyes on El Valero than he handed over a check. Now all he had to do was explain to his wife Ana that they were the proud owners of an isolated sheep farm in the Alpujarra Mountains in Southern Spain. That was the easy part.

It's September 1940 and the Spanish Civil War is over. Madrid lies in ruin, while the Germans continue their march through Europe, and General Franco evades Hitler's request that he lead his broken country into yet another war.

Into this uncertain world comes a reluctant spy for the British Secret Service, sent to gain the confidence of an old school friend turned shady Madrid businessman. Meanwhile, a former Red Cross nurse is engaged in a secret mission of her own. This dangerous game of intrigue is fascinating and readers will be surprised by the profound impact of impossible choices.

Both my husband and I agree, this is our favorite Hemingway book. The Sun Also Rises is a classic example of Hemingway’s spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway’s most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley.

The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love and vanishing illusions.

When novelist Manuel learns that his husband, has been killed in a car crash, life as he knows it comes crashing down. He heads to Galicia where Álvaro died. Surprisingly, the case has already been quickly closed as a tragic accident. It’s also where Álvaro hid his secrets.

The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew. Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.