(2) 4-6 Translated by Jane Springer. Early-seventeenth-century orphans Manu (Manuela, disguised as a boy for safety) and "his" older brother Bento abandon their Portuguese village for Lisbon. Bento is unjustly imprisoned and sentenced to exile in Brazil; Manu accompanies him. Meanwhile, African boy Odjidi and his family are sold into slavery in Brazil. The fast-moving adventure and authentic glimpse of Brazil's early settlers recommend this to young readers.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(3) K-3 Translated by Elisa Amado. Illustrated by Hélène Moreau. The narrator mock-warns readers that a birthday-party invitation saying "bring along whoever you want and whatever you like to eat" could turn into "the craziest, wildest, funnest party ever." En route to that tantalizing pronouncement are warm, expressive paintings of diverse friends and descriptions of their delectable party offerings (sushi, tajine, springerle) and giving-it-their-all gifts (rap music, salsa dancing).

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 4-6 Translated by Luisa Baeta. Illustrated by Lucia Brandao. Machado sets this tale in her native Brazil. A sad and restless ghost child from the nineteenth century appears before Mariano and his friends and entrusts them with the appalling story of her life as a slave and her shocking death. Expressionistic black-and-white illustrations impart an otherworldly flavor to this all-too-real ghost tale of human cruelty and redemptive decency.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2005

(4) 4-6 Translated by David Unger. Illustrated by Caroline Merola. After Bel finds a photograph of her great-grandmother Beatrice, whom she never met, she starts to hear her great-grandmother talking to her. Bel is delighted--until Bisa Bea tells her to be a demure young lady. Luckily, Bel's internal future great-granddaughter tells her to stand up for herself. Though somewhat didactic, this book by award-winning Brazilian author Machado is nevertheless engaging.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley