Julia and Sylvia
Julia and Sylvia are two friends who are very different: Julia is a curly and loud cloud, while Sylvia is a shy sea shell. They get on very well together, so they decided to go to a pop concert, to see the singer Sylvia loves most, a beautiful beetle.
At the end of the show, the beetle passed close by, but Sylvia immediately lower her eyes and could only hear: “Gorgeous curls, girl!”
“It’s always like that”, she thought, “everyone only notices Julia.”
But, wait a minute! When Sylvia finally raised her eyes, what she saw was Julia coming back from the ladies. So…if Julia wasn’t with her…
“He said that to me! The beetle said that to me!!”
It was the first time ever Sylvia realized she too had gorgeous curls, so she started rolling around to try them. This was how she finally learned to rock-and-roll.
Illustrated by Elisa Panerai
Writing for children
May 4, 2009
March 2, 2009
I’ve just had my first book published! It’s called “O Risco e o Fio” .
The book will soon be in bookshops in Brazil and is already available through the publisher’s website.
As you can imagine, I’m very happy and excited about the possibility of it reaching many hands and hearts!
March 2, 2009
The broom and the storyteller
There was a witch who went to a party and drank so much magic potion, that she ended up really dizzy. So dizzy, that on her way back home she couldn’t ride her broom in a straight line, but only in zigzag. The birds kept avoiding her, but one big crow who was a bit distracted, listening to music on its headphones, crashed into her, throwing the witch to one side and the broom to the other!
The broom fell immediately, as it could only fly when ridden by the witch. Down and down and dooooown… Splash! “Where am I?”, it thought. “It’s wet and dark!”
When it realized that it was all surrounded by walls, the broom started trying to climb them, sweeping its way up.
“Uhuhu… ohoho…” The walls were shaking and laughing, they were walls of a very ticklish well.
“How can I get out of here if you keep moving?”, asked the broom.
“Don’t worry, just jump into the bucket and I’ll pull you out!”, shouted the well.
As soon as the broom got out, passing through its big mouth, the well started telling a story of the time when a bull fell into it. Then another one of a fairy. And one more of a squirrel. And even one of a flea. The well was, in fact, a storyteller. The broom enjoyed the stories so much, that it decided to live near the well and help it with the cleaning. Well, the broom had never liked the witch anyway.
Illustrated by Paulo Cesar Rocha
I wrote this Mini a long time ago and have been trying to find someone to illustrate it. Finally, my friend Paulo accepted to do it, playing with typography. And I’ve now realized that this is a second story with ticklish characters! This might say something about me…
The illustrator, by himself:
Paulo loved to draw, but became a graphic designer and fell in love with letters. He thought nothing could be better than letters to illustrate the story of a storyteller.
November 30, 2008
Tom, the toaster and Lolly, the ice cream
It was a cold evening, but Tom decided to go to his friend’s party on the beach anyway. In fact, as there was a lot of dancing going on, no one felt cold at all. On the contrary, from time to time, someone would need to stop and sit, to refresh a bit. One girl in particular, would do it more often than the others. Tom noticed her and thought she was the prettiest girl in the party, so he decided to go and talk to her.
“Hello, I’m Tom”, he said.
“Hi, I’m Lolly”.
“Would you like to dance?”
“Sorry, but I’m melting! I need some rest for now”.
“What about a slow wander on the beach then?”
“OK, that sounds good”.
They walked and chatted and chatted, “What a nice guy!”, Lolly thought. And chatted and chatted, “What a lovely girl!”, Tom thought. They chatted all night long until dawn was coming and they had to go, but arranged to meet again.
Tom and Lolly started going out and they enjoyed being with each other so much, that they soon decided to get married. But now they had a problem: Tom, as a toaster, preferred warm weather, while Lolly, as an ice cream, couldn’t stand the heat. Where would they live?
“I have a nice flat in the freezer”, she said.
“But it is too cold, and there is no work for me in the freezer!”, Tom answered.
They couldn’t agree on where to live, so they split up, but the truth was that they really missed each other.
Lolly, who was a writer, wrote a poem for Tom:
“Beside you my heart used to gallop,
now it can only lollop.
My head aches, but I don’t need paracetamol,
I need your shoulder upon which to loll.”Tom was deeply touched by the poem. “That’s it”, he thought, “I only need a heavy coat and heavy blankets. And I can go out to work everyday!”
He proposed to Lolly, they got married and lived happily ever after in the freezer. Of course Tom needs to cool down after work, before coming back home, so they usually meet at the beach for a stroll. But they don’t stay for too long, to avoid silly children having silly ideas when they see Lolly…
Illustrated by Aimee Dolich
The illustrator, by herself:
Aimee is a dreamer and illustrator living in Lawrence, Kansas, USA. She thinks the British word “lolly” is much prettier than the American word “popsicle”.
October 12, 2008
Bella and Linda
Bella and Linda were twins who had been living in the Cinder shoe shop for almost four years. They were a pair of high heel shoes, and if you saw them in the shop window, you would never guess why no one had bought them until now: they were beautiful and comfortable. The problem was that they were very ticklish shoes!
Whenever someone tried to try them, they would start giggling and laughing and the whole shop would end up laughing too! It was fun, really, but no client wanted to buy shoes without trying them, so Bella and Linda were always left behind, which made them sad.
One day, the most pretty and gentle young lady came into the shop. You could even imagine that she came straight out of a fairy tale, but as she was wearing only rags, the shop assistants didn’t take much notice of her. They thought she wouldn’t buy anything, and were very surprised when she asked to try Bella and Linda. They were even more surprised when they saw her slipping her feet into them so gently, that for the first time ever they didn’t feel at all ticklish! And as they fitted perfectly, she bought them.
The young lady was, in fact, a very famous actress, who was wearing rags just as a disguise. She wanted to use Bella and Linda in a play, which got the twins really excited. They were also a bit nervous, but as they rehearsed and rehearsed, they felt more confident and ready to perform.
The first night was glamorous, the theatre was full and everything was going just right. But then, the worst happened… In the middle of the drama, Bella started feeling ticklish. She tried really hard to control herself, but couldn’t stop, and soon Linda and the actress were laughing with her.
.
What a disaster!, you would think. The truth is that the laughing was so, but so contagious that the whole theatre burst into loud laughter! Now the play is the most successful comedy in town.
Illustrated by Ina
Ina was the first child to read and comment my MSS, and in one of her comments she suggested that I should write a story about a pair of shoes in a shoe shop. Here it is! And as this story is dedicated to her, I thought it would be great to have her illustrating it.
The illustrator, by herself:
I’m Ina and 10 years old. My mum is a friend of Ana who has a big orange hammock which I love to play in. I enjoy reading, drawing and being imaginative.
August 13, 2008
The bird song without a bird
A very beautiful bright blue bird sat on a high tree branch and started to sing: ti-tiri-ti-ti-ti-ti! The lovely song was so light that a passing puff of wind carried it far far away.
The song made friends with the wind and went with him to endless places, always surprising everyone around, who would hear the song, but never see the bird.
After travelling so much though, the song started feeling strange, being a bird song without a bird. What did it look like?, it wondered. Did it look like the wind? But it couldn’t see the wind! And it couldn’t see any of the songs it could hear, either!
The song got very puzzled indeed, so it decided to say good bye to the wind and rest to meditate, floating near a tree. What it then saw just below itself was a large puddle, which reflected everything above it. For a moment, the song imagined that maybe this was what it looked like: a blue sky with some scattered soft clouds.
However, in no time, more and more clouds gathered together, becoming darker and darker, and soon it started to rain, washing the song into the pudlle. This caught the song by surprise, but then it enjoyed now having a body in the shape of big transparent drops. It had good fun splashing into the water! This was how this bird song changed into rain music.
Illustrated by Thereza Rowe
The illustrator, by herself:
I’m Thereza, the little red fox behind TinyRed design. I am currently doing a degree in Graphic Design at the University of Westminster in London. My real passion is illustration and image making of all kinds. I love visual communication and all the play involved and would describe my artwork as whimsical with a human touch. well, something like that…
July 22, 2008
The prince and the dragon
Once upon a time there was a very brave prince who fought against a dragon and won. He imprisoned the beautiful red and green dragon in a cave, but then wasn’t happy to keep the creature in such a small and dark place. So he went to seek advice from the wise wizard of the forest, who offered a solution to his problem:
“I’ll give you a magical rope, and you can tie the dragon to a rock in the open air or even take him for a stroll. Just wait a second.”
He went to a small room at the back of the house and came back with a tiny piece of very thin and light rope.
The prince was really surprised, but the wizard assured him that the rope was very very strong and, even more important, that it wouldn’t catch fire. Finally, he added:
“If you use the magic words ‘Gnol-gnol-gnol’, you can make it as long as you wish!”
So the prince went and did all the wizard had told him to do. He was actually happy to have the dragon’s company, as before he lived alone in the castle. He took good care of him, fed him, brushed him and took him for walks.
The dragon himself enjoyed the prince’s care, but still missed his freedom. Every Monday, watching the prince trying to fly a kite and losing it (as no line could withstand the strong winds in the region), he would think:
“I wish I could again be free to fly, as these kites when they break lose.”
One Monday, very frustrated after losing one more kite, the prince realized that the dragon too looked sad. He thought:
“Maybe, if I let him free, he will be happy and decide to stay and play with me…”
But as soon as he untied the rope, the dragon happily flew away! The prince just sighted and went back to build a new kite for next Monday. Little did he know what surprise would await him then. As he woke up, he saw the dragon through the window, surrounded by four hundred and sixteen kites! The dragon had collected all the kites the prince had lost since he was six!!
Having so many kites, the prince organized a big kite festival, with free kites for everyone! And now that he no longer had any use for the magical rope, “Gnol-gnol-gnol”, he made it reeeeaaaaallllyyyyyy long and cut it into many pieces, so no one would lose their kites.
Illustrated by Steve Loya
The illustrator, by himself:
My name is Steve Loya, and I’ve been teaching art to kids of all ages in Northern Virginia for about seven years. I love to draw and I’ve been trying to make more time to do just that. For fun I dabble in illustration, though I’ve yet to find a particular style to settle on. My hopes are to get more serious with these pursuits with time.
June 12, 2008
The life and adventures of Caroline and John
When the Robinsons were renovating their bathroom, they decided they didn’t want a bath anymore, so poor Caroline ended up at the city’s dump. The truth is that, in the beginning, she actually enjoyed her new home, as she made lots of new friends: old TVs, broken computers and chairs, pieces of this and that etc. They had long conversations and everyone had something interesting to tell about their own experiences. The only problem was that at some point Caroline started missing the water. She felt thirsty, she felt too dry, she really missed the softness of the water.
Caroline went to talk about her pains to a good friend, John, the circus tent, and discovered that he too had some longings: he missed the kids and travelling around the world. They talked and talked and in the end they had a plan, they would sail together over the oceans! Very excited, they asked an old wheelbarrow for help, who took them to the shore and waved good bye to them with a dirty cloth.
Caroline was the boat and John was the sail, how wonderful it was to be on the sea! They quickly learned sailing skills, and spent years travelling around the world. On one trip, though, a storm caught them. It shook them, it threw them everywhere, it almost drowned them! They were trying to hold firm, but a gigantic wave lifted them as high as a mountain, and then dashed them against a rock.
When they finally recovered, Caroline, who was flooded with sea water and full of fishes, realized that she was stuck to the rock. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
“I can’t sail anymore”, she said eventually.
John, who had seen all sorts of things during their trips, soon had an idea. He put himself up over Caroline, again as a circus tent, but now full of holes and with an open entrance. On top of the entrance, he asked a seagull to write with its dropping in brilliant white: AQUARIUM.
Nowadays, John is always full of children again, who come to see Caroline’s fishes, and Caroline is always wet. Both love living beside the sea.
Illustrated by Yara Kono
It’s getting really exciting, seeing my mini stories illustrated by different illustrators! And I’m very lucky: besides having friends who illustrate, I’m finding such nice people and talented illustrators on the internet. It has now occurred to me that it would be a good idea to introduce them. Actually, I thought the best idea would be to have them introduce themselves. So, here we go…
The illustrator, by herself:
Yara Kono was born in Brazil in 1972. She started her first doodles on the wall of a small room, and her mother, who initially wasn’t at all happy, ended up ceding her a whole wall for drawing. Now she lives in Portugal and keeps on drawing, but these days on paper (and not only that). She is part of the team of the graphic design studio/publisher Planeta Tangerina.
May 20, 2008
Henry, Jane and Junior
Henry and Jane were coming back from the shops. They were two tennis balls who had been married for five years, and were very happy because Jane was expecting a baby.
When they got home, Jane felt cramps in her belly, and she started bouncing all around the house, shouting:
“Time to go to hospital! Time to go to hospital!”
The baby was born, healthy and happy, but no one could tell who Junior looked more alike, as he was just a small and cute table tennis ball.
As time went by, Junior quickly grew into a handsome tennis ball. But he did not stop there, soon he grew into a volley ball, and then into a basket ball. At this point, his parents got very concerned and took him to the doctor.
The doctor examined him and asked:
“Have you ever dreamt of being a balloon?”
“Yes”, he answered, “I once had that dream.”
The doctor turned to the parents and said:
“Don’t worry, it’s all going well. The best thing to do is to accept and enjoy it.”
So this is what they did, and now that Junior is a strong hot air balloon, they often go for a ride, flying over mountains, rivers, the sea, and tennis courts.
Illustrated by Chansin Kittichotpanit
I’m so happy to post a new Mini Silly Story, as I’ve already written five more, but am still looking for illustrators. This illustration is the first one not made by a personal friend. It was a different and exciting experience to look on the internet (specially Illustration Friday) and find someone who I thought could illustrate this story beautifully. And this was exactly what Chansin Kittichotpanit, a Thai freelance illustrator, did. Thank you Chansin!
In this story I didn’t make use of the “fantastic duo”, which I introduced in the First Mini Silly Story and have been using since then. In many of the stories, I’ve also been inspired by characters seen in the street, in this case a couple coming back from the shops. They were quite round, more or less the same height, were holding hands and both wearing a yellow jacket with reflective stripes… When we look around, and our imagination is switched on, we can find all sort of interesting characters.
February 3, 2008
Daisy, the sunflower
Daisy is a beautiful sunflower who loves listening to music and dancing. She has been practicing all sorts of routines, from ballet to street dance, moving her whole body, except the roots of course, which are stuck in the ground.
When Daisy heard of the Big Ball, she started dreaming about it, but how could she go, since she can’t walk?
She was almost loosing all hope when suddenly a soap slipped through the bathroom window. She could hear someone in the shower complaining, but the soap didn’t care, he seemed very happy skating around. Daisy loved the way he moved, which gave her this brilliant idea:
“Hey soap, would you take me to the ball?”
“A ball? That sounds cool! Jump on me and off we go!!”
Daisy untangled her roots from the soil and with them held on to the soap, who skidded to the ball.
The problem was that the dance floor was so polished that the soap couldn’t stop anymore. So they went twisting, twirling, whirling, wriggling… until they stumbled into a table and food and drink and everything else on it went flying!
Whoever guessed that, even so, they would go back home with the prize for the most graceful dancers?
Illustrated by Cacá Valente
Playing Field 
