CLEO AND THE MAPINGUARI- PANGOLIN

WRITTEN BY

ILLUSTRATED BY

WRITTEN BY

SAULO RIBAS

XAVIER BARTABURU

ILLUSTRATED BY

FERNANDA RIBEIRO

Copyright © 2023

Saulo Ribas and Xavier Bartaburu (text)

Fernanda Ribeiro (illustrations)

Editorial direction

Aloma Carvalho

Editorial assistant Jessica Spilla Revision

Maria Cristina Monaco

Desktop publishing

Indaia Emília S. Pelosini

Pangolin Books is a proud supporter of UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda (UN SDGs) by making books that promote family reading in an enjoyable way, encouraging children and adults to read and learn. Our books inspire love and curiosity for nature and people from around the world, especially Brazil and South America.

This book is written in OpenDyslexic, a dyslexia-friendly typeface that makes reading more enjoyable for all.

OUR MISSION

Publishing quality books that live on in the minds of our readers as a precious source of knowledge and entertainment.

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INTERNATIONAL DATA FOR CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION (CIP)

SAULO, R.

Cleo and the Mapinguari. / Saulo Ribas and Xavier Bartaburu (text), Fernanda Ribeiro (illustration). 1st edition.

São Paulo: Pangolin Books, 2023.

48 p. : color illu., 21 x 28 cm

ISBN - PRINTED BOOK - 978-65-85061-91-9

ISBN - E-PUB - 978-65-85061-88-9

ISBN - MOBI - 978-65-85061-87-2

ISBN - PDF - 978-65-85061-92-6 DDC 028.5

2023 © All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise –without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Pangolin Books is a children's book publisher based in São Paulo, Brazil.

Visit our website: www.pangolin-books.com

Get in touch: info@pangolin-books.com

For all the boys and girls who respect the differences.

Cleo had a secret.

A secret that nobody knows about. Neither her parents nor her friends at school. A secret that belongs only to her. Cleo had an alligator tail.

It appeared from nowhere. On a certain day, she woke up and saw that a very rough tail had grown on her back.

Without knowing what to do with it, Cleo decided to hide it. Everyday before going to school she would tie it down with a thread and would wear a long skirt, so nobody could see it.

Cleo was very ashamed of her alligator’s tail.

Cleo became a lonely girl.

Her favorite spot now was a park not far from her home. She felt at ease in that place. She used to spend the afternoons there, studying and resting under a tree, far from peoples’ eyes.

But one day, however, Cleo found out that she wasn’t so lonely as she was supposed to.

It happened in one of these summer afternoons. Cleo was reading a book while eating a snack when she felt the tree shaking. Bread crumbs fell on the ground and she saw that someone had stolen her sandwich. Looking up at the treetop, she protested:

— Hey, you grabbed my snack!

A thin voice answered from up there, whining as if it came from a little boy:

— Will you forgive me? I was hungry…

Cleo approached slowly, trying to see better. And what she saw was a huge, hairy creature among the leaves. It reminded a giant sloth. And its appearance was frightening.

— My name is Pingo, he said. Are you a ‘cuca’?

ABOUT THE BOOK

The ‘cuca’, the ‘mapinguari’ and the ‘curupira’ are now nearer to the children. Cleo’s adventures bring themes that have everything to do with today’s boys and girls. School, friendship, loneliness, prejudice and body changing are some of the subjects in this book. All these subjects are interposed by the fantastic beings of Brazilian folklore. More than simple monsters or haunted spirits, they are now part of our everyday life and face challenges similar to ours. This way, culture and environment are now nearer to the young people.

For more than fifty years our fantastic creatures have been explored in literary and informative works addressed to children and youth. The adventures of Cleo and her friends represent a small but important contribution to disseminate the Brazilian culture.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Colorful but soft, strong but delicate. So are the illustrations of this book, showing the young reader that there are many possibilities to represent the enchanted creatures of the Brazilian folklore.

Three colors predominate in the illustrations: green, orange and brown. This composition helps to emphasize details at the same time subtle and important to characterize the environment and the characters of the story. In Cleo’s clothes, in the vegetation and even in the sky there is a green hue, as delicate as the girl. In Tom’s fire hair and the dusk, a strong orange, almost red tone. Pingo, the big and affectionate ‘mapinguari’ child, has brown hair like the trees which he loves so much.

Besides that, the illustrations were made to express the characters’ emotions and the story’s tension. The forest is dark and dense when the kids go in there for the first time. Further, when Pingo sees his father, it shines in orange and yellow hues…

The illustrations of Cleo’s adventures were made to move, to touch and to broaden our references and our imagination, for they create a universe where the fantastic element of the narrative is made possible.

HINTS FOR READING AND TO EXPLORE THIS WORK

Discuss with readers what they already know about the ‘cuca’, the ‘mapinguari’ and the ‘curupira’.

Comment about other creatures of Brazilian folklore that they also know.

Compare the characteristics of the creatures explored in this book with the characteristics shown in other works and even on TV programs and movies.

Make a research in books and on the internet about these creatures and their importance in the national folklore.

Organize at home or in school, a gallery of mythological creatures, similar to that presented at the end of this book.

Put on a drama about the story with your classmates in school.

M ost important: reflect about differences and the importance of friendship.

NOW THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK, YOU WILL BE PLEASED TO KNOW THAT IT…

who is the person who came up with the idea for the story and writes the text.

the publisher, the company that makes the book and brings it to you!

the publisher’s social networks information about the book and its authors.

was written by… SAULO RIBAS

XAVIER BARTABURU

was illustrated by… FERNANDA RIBEIRO

was published by… PANGOLIN BOOKS

has the ISBN number… PRINTED BOOK - 978-65-85061-91-9 E-PUB - 978-65-85061-88-9

MOBI - 978-65-85061-87-2 PDF - 978-65-85061-92-6

is well explained here… www.pangolin-books.com

Making books, spreading reading!

the illustrator, that is, the person who imagines the characters and the scenarios and draws all of them.

which is the number that identifies the book anywhere in the world!

Asecret that no one knew. Not her parents, not even her friends from school. A secret that was all hers.

Cleo had an alligator tail.

It appeared out of nowhere. One day, she woke up and noticed that a rough tail had somehow grown on her backside. Not knowing what to do, Cleo decided to hide her tail.

Everyday, before she left for school, she would tie it with a string and wear a long skirt, so that no one could see it. Cleo felt very ashamed of her alligator tail.