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Rice pudding
22/01/2010

Arroz-Vilela-cover

Text by Jorge Argueta

Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

To be published by Groundwood in 2010

Hardback - 32 pages

Rice pudding is one of the most international and traditional desserts which exist. It is also a dish that is typically homemade and easy to make, whose preparation is within the reach of any child who can cook beneath the attentive supervision of an adult.

But above all, it is perhaps one of the dishes most characteristic of childhood, with its particular texture and its unmistakable aroma.

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Arroz con leche (Rice pudding) is a cooking poem by the Salvadoran writer and poet Jorge Argueta, already an expert in this type of poetic exercise. With his magical words, it is nature itself which erupts in the kitchen, with its rivers, waterfalls, rainfalls, skies, clouds, rainbows, and stars… And to cook thereby becomes a true adventure…

Fernando Vilela chose a palette of happy though gentle colors for this book and an undulating line which gives his illustrations a sweetness very evocative of familial tenderness. Magic and reality are united in one of the artist’s most accomplished works.

There is no doubt that the aroma of cinnamon of this marvelous rice pudding, a true gift, will always remain in the memory of all those who share it.

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To be issued in a bilingual edition

(Spanish-English languages)

Anaclara’s Mirrors
20/10/2009

Modified on June, 28, 2010

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Fondo de Cultura Económica and the Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas are publishing Los espejos de Anaclara (The Mirrors of Anaclara), a poetry collection by the Uruguayan writer Mercedes Calvo, winner of the prestigious Premio Hispanoamericano de Poesía para Niños, 2008.

From the perspective of early childhood, this book narrates the imaginings of a little girl who looks in the mirror and imagines that her eyes are two doors through which she can enter to discover what is trapped within her: dreams, fears, pains, joys, and yearnings. It is a book which unfolds at the limit between reality and fantasy and the channels through which these two communicate…

The Brazilian artist Fernando Vilela has chosen to work in three colors to illustrate these poems, creating transitions, paradoxes, shiftings, reflections, and games between reality and fiction and thereby creating a book that is suggestive, deeply intelligent, and full of life.

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Hardback – 52 pages  – 18,5 x 24,5

Hispano-american Children’s Poetry Award 2008

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On the edge of the well / I leaned / and a word to the bottom / I let fall.

The mirror of the water / which shattered / stole my word, / took it away.

Down a dark path / my voice went / I remained thinking / had I lost it?

But the echo of the water / answered me: / poetry always / is made between two.

Review by Pedro Villar in Revista Educación y Biblioteca (Spanish)

Interview of Mercedes Calvo by Pedro Villar (poet and Member of the Prize Jury) (Spanish)

Review in El Universal (México) (Spanish)

Interview of Mercedes Calvo by Agencia Noticias 22 (Spanish)

Review in María García Esperón’s blog (Spanish)

Letter to Mercedes Calvo by Pedro Villar

Querida Mercedes:

A través de nuestra amiga María García Esperón, ser alado y generoso, vuela este mensaje desde España hacia ti. Quiero dejarte mi testimonio de gratitud, como gran poeta y maestra que eres, y a las personas que como tú tienen el oído y el corazón atento a la escritura y saben entregar la poesía para niños y otros seres sensibles como una ofrenda, como el mayor de los tesoros.El destino me trajo a México como jurado para encontrarme con los espejos de Anaclara, un descubrimiento de versos gigantes, de palabras sencillas y profundas, que llevan la luz de la poesía a flor de labio, al borde del corazón. Versos para recitar serenamente o para ser jugados y cantados ( Ya lo dijo Cortázar, toda poesía que se precie es juego), versos arrebatadores, profundamente hermosos, con una hondura que no suele ser habitual.Vino tu voz como un sueño de nubes y de pájaros, de olor a tierra mojada, de infancia y de tradición en su estado de pureza. Vino cantando por los caminos, en un espacio sin tiempo, para reflejarse en la mirada y el misterio de cada uno de nuestros espejos. Gracias. Este abrazo de palabras es para ti.

Pedro Villar, desde España y con México en el corazón.

Message from Mexican children to Spanish children

Video by  María García Esperón (by courtesy of Pedro Villar)

“Poetry is a transgression” Conference by Mercedes Calvo

Collection Ways to Change the World
09/07/2009

Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrated by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

The Collection Ways to Change the World - universal stories written and adapted by Stela Barbieri and illustrated by Fernando Vilela showcases a dialogue with the 8 Millenium Development Goals, proposed in the year 2000 by the United Nations.

In this occasion, Brazil, among other 190 countries, signed a pact in which they would commit themselves to achieve the goals concerning the humanity and the planet until 2015.

On the whole, the stories presented in the Collection Ways to Change the World are inspired by traditional stories from many countries. The illustrations make the readers slip into places from many cultural backgrounds. In order to write and illustrate the stories, Fernando and Stela have made a thorough research of the elements that pertain the diverse cultures represented in them.

The pact has proposed 8 ways of changing the world, which issues will be delved into the 8 stories of the Collection Ways to Change the World:

ERRADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER

(A Menina do Feijão Suculento / The Girl and the Juicy Bean Stew)

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ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

(O Reino dos Mamulengos / The Kingdom of Puppets-Showcase)

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PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN

(Radija e os Tapetes Mágicos / Radija and the Magic Carpets)

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REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

(Na Sombra do Baobá / Under the Shadow of the Baobab Tree)

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IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

(Satiko e o Vulcão / Sachiko and the Volcano)

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COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA, AND OTHER DISEASES

(O Gênio do Poço Encantado / The Genius of the Enchanted Well)

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ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

(O Amigo dos Animais / The Animals’ Friend)

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DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

(A Ponte / The Bridge)

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Issued in Portuguese language

The Big Meal
08/07/2009

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Text & illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by DCL

Paperback – 300 x 300 – 40 pages

Snake is eating too much… the jaguar, the wild pig, the macaw, even the worm! With a full up belly, will the snake stand it? Watch out the illustrations, because the animals are wild and they might come out of the book!

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Issued in Portuguese language

The Red Towel
08/07/2009

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Wordless story by Fernando Vilela

Published by Brinque-Book

Paperback – 180 x 225 – 64 pages

Illustrated with a technique that uses crape bands, this new book by artist Fernando Vilela has no text, but the images shown in each page fulfill the curiosity and the imagination of readers about the planet Earth, specifically the bottom of the ocean, whose fauna and flora the author researched in depth. This book can be read as well from the beginning than from the end, creating in each case, a new trip.

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Wordless story

Vilela’s interview in Educación y Biblioteca by Gustavo Puerta (Spanish)

The genius of the enchanted well
08/07/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

Once in a certain place there was an enormous well that supplied the region pure and limpid water. The water came from a fresh and a healthy fountain, and the local people believed that inside it there was a generous genius that took care of that well. People used to live happily and with health. Nonetheless, as time went by, they began to get sick. The herbs and medicine available would not cure them. Wise men and doctors were called and found out that people were getting sick because the water was infected. At last another well was built.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The sixth Goal, “Combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases”, has motivated The genius of the enchanted well.

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Issued in Portuguese language

The animals’ friend
08/07/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

Cauan, a wise boy that in his dreams would communicate with the animals, used to live in an indigenous tribe. Once there was an attack of wild pigs. The witch doctor, when interpreting Cauan’s dreams, found out that the attack was a result of their living in a state of environmental unbalance.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways of Changing the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The seventh Goal, “Ensure environmental sustainability”, has motivated The animals’ friend.

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Issued in Portuguese language

The bridge
08/07/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

In a far-away village, in the bank of a river, used to live an agricultural community that grew corn and sold it in a town nearby. To sell it, they had to cross the river in canoes. In the rainy season the river became very torrential. Crossing it was impossible. So they decided to build a bridge and, to do so, they trusted each villager’s knowledge and cooperation. Many trials and errors engage the readers in this story.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The eighth Goal, “Develop a global partnership for development”, has motivated The bridge.

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Issued in Portuguese language

Lampião and Lancelot
08/07/2009

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Text & illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Cosac Naify

Paperback – 240 x 195 – 52 pages

What do you suppose might happen if the famous outlawn “Lampião” from the backlands of northeastern Brazil were to meet up with one of the medieval knights of King Arthur’s Round Table? Such an extremely unusual meeting led illustrator – and now author – Fernando Vilela to compose an extraordinarily original work, mixing various styles: in verse, using the sextain (six line stanzas) typical of the string literature of the backlands; in prose, in the style typical of the epic narratives of medieval culture, and in stamping and wood engraving. The confrontation between Lampião and Lancelot extends to the special colors that come to fill the pages: silver and copper, in contrast to the black, making up pictures of spectacular beauty. The book also includes a glossary of terms and an explanatory text about the references Vilela used to compose this work, wich is outstanding in terms of size and talent. The result, as Braulio Tavares points out in the text on the blurb, “is a visual and poetic adventure worthy of the two cultures that inspired it”.

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Mention – New Horizons – Bologna Ragazzi Award – Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2007

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White Raven List 2006 – International Jugend Bibliothek de Munich

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2 Jabuti’s Awards 2007 (Brazil Academy of Letters)

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Issued in Portuguese language

In words of the Bologna Ragazzi Award Jury

The book by Fernando Vilela, Lampião & Lancelote, published by Cosac & Naify Edições, resonates with a multitude of elements. First and foremost it brings together many techniques and cultures in a manner true to the splendid definition of Lewis Mumford. The combined techniques of woodcuts, bronze coloured overlays and silver finishing allude to the Galaxy of Gutenberg whose artist-typographers were wont to combine a vast array of techniques. The fury of battle, landscapes where trees and bushes seem to come alive, the appearance here and there of human faces reminiscent of Lampião, scattered weapons and uniforms all speak of history, the human story – and fiction through reference to Borges. This is a book of dreams to encourage dreaming; a book where hills are bronze and the cavalry of the ancient epic poems are redolent of Italian frescoes.

In words of the White Raven Selection Commitee

Popular culture – Middle Ages – Poetry – Fight
This book is written in the form of a “cordel” text, a verse narrative that constitutes an important genre of popular Brazilian culture. In it, the author crafts an unusual encounter between the medieval knight Lancelot and the legendary “cangaceiro” (bandit) Lampião. They compete in a verbal combat that evokes their different times, their habits, the imaginary of medieval literature, and the typical language and setting of northern Brazil. The result is a truly original story in each passage and every brushstroke. The very expressive illustrations in extra-large landscape format contain numerous allusions to the two different epochs and cultures: Whereas Lancelot’s universe is depicted in silver, a colour that was also used in medieval book art, the woodcut-like illustrations in copper, reminiscent of the printing technique of “cordel” literature, represent Lampião’s world. Both in the text and the pictures, the two different worlds are merged into a fascinating whole. (8+)

Vilela’s interview by Gustavo Puerta in Educación y Biblioteca (Spanish)

Review in Ràdio Cultura Brasil (audio in Portuguese)

The Birth of the Universe
09/06/2009

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Text by Judith Nuria Maida
Illustrated by Fernando Vilela

Published by Editora Ática

Paperback – 330 x 230 – 40 pages

It is a book that combines scientific soundness and poetry to tell the children, in an accessible way, a story that has amazed humanity from thousands and thousands of years: the origin of the Universe. The book presents the Big Bang theory, which is a likely explanation about the beginning of the Universe, in a poetical language prepared for children.

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Judith Nuria Maida was born in Patagonia, Argentina. Since she was little she has enjoyed writing poems and studing Astronomy – the science that unveils – among other amazing things. She is very interested in the arising of the Universe and the movement of heavenly bodies.

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Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author-illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.

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Issued in Portuguese language

The Girl’s Yarn
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Girafinha

Paperback – 260 x 230 – 48 pages

The story of a princess with a shining string on her head.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was born with a different string on top of her head. It was not hair, it was stronger than steel, shining and very long. It would tangle everywhere giving the girl a heck of a headache. Nothing nor no one could pull the string out of the girl’s head. As the girl grew up she became a beautiful lady but very cranky and sad. Gentlemens’ gifts were of no use for the princess who would always refuse these and make fun of them. But one of them realized she was not doing it out of sheer evilness, she was doing it because the thread kept pulling her head back bothering her tremendously. Decided to help her, he followed the thread untangling knot by knot. When he untangled the last knot the princess felt happy for the first time in her life.

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And then they were wed. But the string kept on growing. So the princess decided she would weave and knit beautiful fabrics and clothes out of this thread. Clothes so beautiful people would come from far away just to see the wonderful clothes she was making.

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Highly Recommended Award by FNLIJ (Brazilian branch of IBBY)

Finalist Jabuti Prize 2007 (Category Children’s books)

Issued in Portuguese language

Bumba-meu-boi, the Holy Ox Party
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrated by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 - 48 pages

The bumba-meu- boi is a Brazilian popular party in which indigenous and afro-brazilian cultures join in a single dialogue and it takes place in many regions of the country.

However, Stela Barbieri and Fernando Vilela retell a different version to children’s public, inspired in the regional version from Maranhão State “The Ox has black skin full of colored outfits”, where this entertaining story enchants everyone in St. John’s Folk Party.

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In Words of the White Raven Selection Committee:

Ox – Wish – Dance
Since the 18th century, Bumba-meu-Boi is part of Brazilian folklore. It is a comic-dramatic dance, which tells the story of the death and resurrection of an ox. The drama is told and danced in the whole country to the present day. Depending on the region, it has different names and versions (Boi-Bumbá, Boi-de-fita, Boi-de-reis, etc.). The readers of this version will be captivated by the protagonist Francisco’s deeds in order to satisfy the fancies of his pregnant wife, Catirina, who is craving an ox tongue. The problem is that she only wants to eat the tongue of the charmed ox, which sparkles with coloured strings and dances during the “festas juninas” in honour of Saint John and Saint Peter, or during the Nativity celebrations. In the end, Francisco is able to find a compromise and, to the joy of the audience, the ox can dance again. The mixed-media illustrations present the festivities of the ox party in vivid colours and transmit the joy of the traditional feast. (8+)

Review in Dobras da Leitura (Portuguese)

White Raven List 2008

Issued in Portuguese language

Pedro Malasartes Comics
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustration by Fernando Vilela

Published by Editora Moderna

Paperback – 170 x 240 – 48 pages

Pedro Malasartes plays an important role in many Brazilian children’s and adults’ imagination. Important character of Brazilian popular culture, his stories are told everywhere. They are full of humor, with surprising solutions. Even though Pedro Malasartes looks like a common man, he is cunning and sharp-witted in his “arts”.

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Pedro Malasartes in Wikipedia (Spanish language)

Issued in Portuguese language

The ABC of Japan
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Editora SM (Brazil)

Paperback – 270 x 205 – 48 pages

A trip to the rising Sun country, with its landscapes (made of beaches, volcanos and gardens) through its millenary traditions (like the Zen-Buddhism), its art (like the Kabuki, the Haiku and the Ukiyo-e), its people and its habits. Among dragons and shoguns, swords and lanterns, a whole new world is revealed, with powerfulness and kindness.

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Issued in Portuguese language

Pedagogical guide (Portuguese)

Pocket Book Storyteller – Africa
09/06/2009

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Text by Ilan Brenman
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Editora Moderna

Paperback – 120 x 180 – 80 pages

This volume encloses popular stories from many regions of the vast Mother Africa. “Ananse woke up one day strong-minded: “I want to be Africa’s official storyteller”. At that time, the owner of all stories was Nyankonpon, the sky god. Ananse asked to be given an audience with the all-powerful owner of narratives.

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Ilan Brenman was born in Israel. He is the author of many books for young readers and has been published by several important Brazilian publishers.

Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author-illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.

See also Pocket Book Storyteller – Brazil

Issued in Portuguese language

Pocket Book Storyteller – Brazil
09/06/2009

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Text by Ilan Brenman
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Editora Moderna

Paperback – 120 x 180 – 80 pages

This volume encloses popular stories from the five regions of Brazil: North, Northeast, Center-East, Southeast and South Brazil. “What has happened to the jaguars that were trapped in the liana? No one knows. What we know is that the Brazilian raccoon’s children, grand-children and great-grandchildren and great-great-great grandchildren have to watch out the jaguars as this story has spread over all Brazil’s Center-East corners.”

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Ilan Brenman was born in Israel. He is the author of many books for young readers and has been published by several important Brazilian publishers.

Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author-illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.

See also Pocket Book Storyteller – Africa

Issued in Portuguese language

Samurai’s Origami
09/06/2009

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Text by Ilan Brenman
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Companhia das Letras

Paperback – 230 x 230 – 48 pages

In Japan, origami has been part of people’s lives for a long time. Samurais used to apply this technique to develop motor coordination, blood circulation and the touch. And so did the famous warrior Massao Kazuo, also a master in the art of origami. His son, Mitio, enjoyed watching his father making the tsuru, an origami form that represents the crane, bird of health and richness. As a good observer, Mitio soon became an origami specialist. Until the day his father got sick and Mitio decided to make a thousand tsurus, in order to save Massao.

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Ilan Brenman was born in Israel. He is the author of many books for young readers and has been published by several important Brazilian publishers.

Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author-illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.

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Issued in Portuguese language

What Fits in a Book?
09/06/2009

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Text by Ilan Brenman
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by DCL

Paperback – 300 x 300 – 32 pages

What fits into a book? All you want, all you imagine. A book is like mother’s heart, has endless spaces and possibilities. This small big-sized book would not be different. In it everything in the world fits in, be them big, small, full of movement or motionless. With wonderfully vivid colors and shapes, young readers will not veer from it up to the end, making them dream, like only books can do…

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Ilan Brenman was born in Israel. He is the author of many books for young readers and has been published by several important Brazilian publishers.

Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author-illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.

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Issued in Portuguese language

Sachiko and the Volcano
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

Sachiko, who was pregnant, used to live with her family in a village, on the lake bank, which, on its turn, was placed on the foot of a volcano. The volcano had never erupted and would always release a smooth smoke. However, in a cold night, the earth quaked and suddenly the volcano, overtaking everyone, spilled rivers of lava that invaded the village. Sachiko lost her husband and, looked after by the community, was assisted in her needs as pregnant.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The fifth Goal, “Improve maternal health”, motivated Sachiko and the Volcano.

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Issued in Portuguese language

The Kingdom of the Puppets-Showcase
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

Severino was a young man when he decided to get around in the world in search of his fortune. He was an expert in playing with puppets. However he did not know how to read and write. Due to this, he was almost fooled by a jealous king who did not want his daughter to get married with him. Helped by a friend who was a mountebank leader, Severino learned how to read and built a great library to his people.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The second goal, “Achieve universal primary education”, motivated The Kingdom of the Puppets-Showcase.

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Issued in Portuguese language

The Girl and the Juicy Bean Stew
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

With a simple and friendly language, the book approaches the hunger and solidarity issue. It stimulates the reader to slip into the story, get involved by the issue, mostly due to the illustrations that value the plantations, the land cultivation and the “Feijoada” (Brazilian Bean Stew) made by the whole community.

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At the end, the book presents the text “The Fight for the Dreams”, which explains the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The first one, “Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger”, has motivated The Girl and the Juicy Bean Stew.

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Issued in Portuguese language

Radija and the Magic Carpets
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

Radija used to live in the middle of the desert, together with her parents and five siblings. She would enjoy imagining the day when she would go with the merchants’ traveling group, selling her “magic” carpets that used to feed her imagination.

Her father used to say to her she could not travel without him or her husband. Despite the adversities, she did not give up her dream and turned out to be a very special storyteller.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The third Goal, “Promote gender equality and empower women”, has motivated Radija and the Magic Carpet.

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Issued in Portuguese language

Under the Shadow of the Baobab Tree
09/06/2009

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Text by Stela Barbieri
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Escala Educacional

Paperback – 180 x 200 – 48 pages

In a very distant place, there was a woman who wished to have a son. Everyday she would go to a nearby baobab tree to make her prayers, pledging to the gods to help her have the kid she wanted so much. Once, desperate, she shouted: “May the Gods send me a son even if he were as small as this baoba seed!” Nine months went by and the woman gave birth to a tiny little baby. From that day on, feeding and taking care of him was a great and awfully demanding challenge, which she carried out with all her efforts and the assistance of the people from that place.

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This book is part of the Collection Ways to Change the World, based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The fourth Goal, “Reduce Child Mortality”, has motivated Under the Shadow of the Baobab Tree.

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Issued in Portuguese language

A Story-Teller’s Favorite Stories
04/06/2009

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Text by Ilan Brenman
Illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by DCL

Paperback – 220 x 300 – 64 pages

A Story-Teller’s Favorite Stories brings a selection of seven tales from different peoples around the globe: Africans, Brazilians, Greeks, Asian and even one from the Canary Islands. The stories, recommended for children over 7 years old, are retold by Ilan Brenman and illustrated by Fernando Vilela, who used woodcutting techniques for the job. The beauty of its images and the careful choice of its stories give this book not only great narratives, but also a very good visual appeal.

Through an innovative and free-writing style, the author presents seven short stories, full of grace and good-humor. The reader comes in contact with an inventive and rich cultural universe, which provides children with new vocabulary, along with words and symbols. More than just entertaining children, A Story-Teller’s Favorite Stories stimulates their imagination, educates their mind and gives them support to build even more distinguished and outstanding personalities.

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Ilan Brenman was born in Israel. He is the author of many books for young readers and has been published by several important Brazilian publishers.

Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.

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Issued in Portuguese language

The Boatman and the Canoeman
01/06/2009

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Text & illustrations by Fernando Vilela

Published by Scipione

Paperback – 170 x 260 – 64 pages

The Boatman and the Canoeman narrates the getting together between a white boatman and a indigenous canoeman on the Amazon River. The canoeman is rescued by the boatman, from the small canoe which was about to sink. During their trip down the river, the two men tell their stories and adventures. Absent-minded, they do not realize the vessel was damaged and is also about to sink.

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Issued in Portuguese language

Tapajós – An Adventure in Amazon Waters
30/05/2009

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Wordless story by Fernando Vilela

Published by Atica

Paperback – 275 x 202 – 40 pages

The book tells us the story of two children – and their pet turtle – who live in the region of Jarí, a small riverbranch that links River Amazon and River Tapajós in Pará State. However the main character of the book is, in fact, the scenario itself: the river that leads the destiny of the communities that live around it, who are compelled to move on to other places in the Forest in the period of the rains. Even the school obeys the logic of the river, interrupting the classes in the rain season.

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The fauna and flora, the day-by-day of the community and their habits are portrayed with beauty and fidelity in details – all of it without the need of a single word. It is an invitation for kids to discover a part of Brazil little explored.

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Wordless

Review in Rádio Cultura Brasil (audio in Portuguese)


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