FACILITOS

Tonia Patagonia y la caja mágica

Level 1 Spanish Perfect for beginners! (Novice | CEFR A1)

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VOCABULARY: Written in present tense with 84 word families and 65 cognates
THEMES: True treasure vs material wealth; love, family, and friendship;
GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS: South American countries in the Andes Mountains

Tonia Patagonia is orphaned and alone in the world. Her only legacy is a magical box that holds her family’s unique treasure. There’s just one problem: the box won’t open.

To unlock it, Tonia has to find seven crystals hidden across South America. She’s determined, she’s Tonia Patagonia, after all. And she’s never cold, hot, thirsty, hungry, sleepy… or scared!

She sets off on a wild adventure through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. But as she goes from one scary surprise to the next, she finds out that the real treasure isn’t gold or jewels

it’s something far more powerful, and nothing like she expected.

This funny and heartwarming story is perfect for beginner Spanish learners who want to explore South America, learn numbers, colours, and useful expressions, and discover what really makes us happy.

So grab your map and prepare to go on a great journey!

Praise

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Margarita y Patricia, me han hecho llorar con el libro y lo digo en serio. ¡Qué libro más hermoso! Me encanta la historia de Tonia, me encantan sus amigos, me fascina cómo son su familia y cómo tienen hambre, rabia y sed. Mientras leía me imaginaba las mil formas en que podría utilizar esto con mi año seis. Tonia Patagonia es un libro lleno de emociones y sensaciones. Lleno de colores y un inmenso viaje. Es un libro con música e imágenes. Es un libro para leer en tu clase, compartir, disfrutar y celebrar la amistad. Me encantó y ya veo a mis clases encantados con Tonia Patagonia también.

—Fernanda Astudillo Blanche,

Spanish teacher

Rating: 5 out of 5.

We read Tonia Patagonia as a class and it was an amazing story! It’s about a girl called Tonia who has no family, and she’s trying to find out what the treasure her family left her is. But she can’t open the magic box or discover what it is until she finds all seven missing crystals. The vocabulary in this book is good for beginners and has definitions throughout the pages to make it easy to understand without needing to go to the main glossary at the back. It has deeper connections to real-life situations where you feel out of place or lonely when moving to a new country and finding new friends.
Tonia makes a bunch of friends during her journey, which is super cute, just like the adorable art style this book has!

— Summer, Spanish Secondary school student

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Tonia Patagonia is a beautiful story that my students will love. It is a quest, a search for the missing piece of her puzzle. It is an adventure, meeting interesting and unique creatures through her travels. It is a set of postcards of our amazing South America, showing the reader pictures of hidden landmarks. It is a laugh, presenting funny situations that will make my students chuckle. On top of this, the authors tell this engaging story using beginner vocabulary, repeating key phrases, and using verbs in first and third person singular. This book provides all that I have been looking for: a story that will keep my students coming for more adventures, that will enable them to express themselves, and that will open a window to our beautiful geography. I can’t wait to read Tonia Patagonia with my students this coming year.

— Paulina Cox, Junior School teacher

Illustration of Tonia standing on an island from Chapter 1 of Tonia Patagonia. She appears curious and adventurous, surrounded by sea and nature.
Tonia walks alone on the island holding her magic box. She looks toward the water, ready to pick up a crystal. She says she is not cold — she is Tonia Patagonia.
Tonia walks alone on the island holding her magic box. She looks toward the water, ready to pick up a blue crystal — but the blue shape turns out to be a friendly blue monster, the crystal’s guardian.
Tonia stands surrounded by all the crystal guardians. The monsters are now her friends, ready to join her on the next adventure together like a family.

Do you want to make the most of Tonia Patagonia? With the teacher’s guide, your students will develop their language skills and cultural understanding through a story they’ll love.

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