Books with author Ana Maria Machado

From a Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning author, a mystery that begins with clues in a school in modern-day Brazil and continues through the ages to ancient Egypt, a medieval wizard’s castle laboratory, and the ships that sailed from Europe to discover the New WorldGaming whizz Will, along with his friends Sonia, Miguel, Matt, and Faye, gets an A for a group history project. But when their teacher reads from their work, none of them recognizes the piece. This is the first of a number of mystery messages which appears in their homework and emails, on their phones, and on their computer screens. Someone from the past is trying to communicate with them, and they must decipher the messages—the strange words from years ago—and figure out how to respond. The messages from Nefertiti, Marco Polo, and the other voices all have one thing in common: they all have to do with the importance of being able to read, and of history living on through the written word.

If it is just a few days until your birthday, and your mother says you can invite anyone you like to come over to play, be careful! If you don’t watch out, you might soon be having the craziest party ever. Before you know it, night could come and go and a new day could begin, and the dancing might still be going strong. In a celebration of neighbors and diversity, an open-ended party invitation results in a raucous gathering of children, pets, and parents (plus salsa dancers and a reggae band!), all feasting on food from all over the world. This is a humorous and irresistibly joyful cautionary tale.

A tyrant in a land far away (or not so far away) has robbed his citizens of all their happiness by turning the skies grey with smoke, prohibiting ideas, forbidding song and music, and setting a curfew to prevent people from seeing the stars in the night sky. Three children named Totonho, Jacira, and Isabel get together and remember happiness when they play and laugh.

One of a series which describes the cultural history of continents or regions through several centuries, this book decribes the periods of Latin America's great civilizations from the time of exploration by European adventurers and traders, and explains the significance of the colonization that followed. It describes the geography of Latin America, the mountains and tropical rainforests, the remains of the Inca, Aztec and Mayan peoples, the explorers from the 15th to the 20th centuries including the European scientists and artists of the 19th century in the land of El Dorado. Specially commissioned maps show the region before and after exploration.

Martin and his friends are helping their parents turn an old Brazilian coffee plantation into an inn. The children have a fun time helping to renovate the old place and they sleep in a shed that is being converted into a guest room. But one night they hear the sound of a young girl crying. Gradually, the ghost of a slave girl from the late 1800s named Rosario appears to them. Rosario tells them the story of her life and in doing so reveals the danger and instability that existed in Brazil after slavery ended. Martin promises Rosario to record her story in the form of a book. Though the experience of slavery seems remote to Martin and his friends, by the time they've heard Rosario's story, the evil of slavery is made painfully clear.Ana Maria Machado’s deft storytelling skills and social conscience come together in this powerfully moving book that explores the history and impact of slavery.

Ana Maria Machado, Brazilian author and winner of the Hans Christian Andersen award, brings us the tragic story of Rosario, a young slave from the late 1800s who appears as a ghost to some children living in contemporary time.Martin and his friends are helping their parents turn an old Brazilian coffee plantation into an inn. The children sleep in a shed, which is being converted into guest rooms. One night they hear crying. Gradually, the slave Rosario appears to them and tells the story of why she is so sad. It is a terrible and tragic account that reveals the danger and instability that existed in Brazil, in the late 1800s, when slavery finally ended. Martin is distressed because he is not a very good student, but he has promised to record Rosario’s story in book form. Humor and happy everyday moments in the children’s lives enliven the book.Though Rosario’s experience may have happened in another world, by the time the children and the reader confront the terrible episode at the heart of the story, the utter hellishness of slavery is made shockingly clear.