The Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss

Review from a 10 year old Student: The sad night is a picture book about how the Spanish invaded the Aztec empire. It starts out with the Aztecs looking for a place with an eagle on a cactus with a rattlesnake in its beak to build an empire then it skips ahead to Hernan Cortés's arrival in Mexico. It talks about most of the details from how the Aztecs thought that he was a god to when he came back and conquered them. It also has pictures similar to what the Aztecs would have put in their books or codices. If you are a kid who is interested in the Aztecs or the Spanish then this is definitely a book you want to read.

The charecters of this book are Hernando Cortez, a spanish soldier, and Moctezuma the Second, the king of the Aztecs.This all takes place in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital city and home of the Aztecs.Cortez and his men want Moctezuma to protect them from any possible danger, but Moctezuma says that his kingdom is peaceful enugh and they do not need protection. So, Cortez and his army kidnap Moctezuma and then, when the Aztecs find out, the battle begins.It is great when Cortez loses his men during the battle at the end because of the way the author tells the story.This book is good for children who are interested in history about famous explorers.Cady

I have used this book to teach intermediate grades about the Aztecs and it has been a surprising favorite of my students for years. The rich illustrations add to the story and enhance the historical elements of the book. This one is not to be missed!

I ordered a series of books on central and south American cultures for my 7th graders to use as quick references on a Latin American Cultures Historical Fiction project. What a fantastic and retelling! The illustrations are intricate and the students listened attentively as I read this aloud in class. Excellent book!

This book borders on Snoozeville. It's positively almost really boring, but on the plus side it very informational without a lot of boring facts, and I learned something from reading it. The book isn't great, and isn't bad. I guess I would describe it as an illustrated historical account. If you're trying to teach some aspect of history then buy it, but if you thought it might be fun to read then l wouldn't recommend it.

Nice book with excellent pictorials. Love the structure of it and the well done work resulting in a beautiful layout worth reading to the children about our ancestors.

This book has been beloved by my kids and nieces/nephews to read each and every year, from age 4 to age 13. I just attended the Aztec exhibit at the British Museum in London, and realized I knew and understood most of the exhibit from reading "The Sad Night". My mom and I were amazed at how historically accurate the story and drawings were to the Aztec iconography, while still being really interesting to look at and read for kids. This is such a worthwhile book because kids keep coming back to it. It is so well done. Yes, its somewhat bloody in its story of war and conquest, but that's what really happened. I'm going to get it for our school library.

Bought this for our 3rd grader and could hardly get through it. Perhaps it will be something to come back to later. I can't say anything is wrong with the book but the format is not user friendly and we are a household full of readers. Wouldn't recommend this one.

will be using in literacy to teach about other countries stories ... it will tie in with the topic that they have been learning about the Aztecs

Much appreciated thank you 👍

Very pleased

Great illustrations and topical story for classroom learning.