“There are many ways to speak about Uma Boneca para Menitinha,
but if I had to choose just one word it would be: wonder.”

Gabriela Romeu

This children’s novel is about three generations born in a place replete with stories. In this tale full of wonder and traditions, we accompany the girl Menitinha (A shorten word for Minha Netinha, or my granddaughter), and her grandma. The plot takes place among traditions from times past, river washerwomen’s songs, the smell of guava sweets and, at dawn, an enchanted hour.

Uma Boneca para Menitinha, which was illustrated by artist Larissa de Souza, is a novel about affection, about our origins and about everything that cannot be explained, but can be really understood.

The authors

Penélope Martins is a storyteller and writer who lives in Santo André (SP). Born in the city of Mogi das Cruzes, in the countryside of São Paulo, in 1973, she grew up surrounded by the affection of her grandparents, aunts, and uncles, in a cultural mix of a foreign father and a Brazilian mother, which yielded many funny stories. Among her published books are: Ainda assim te quero bem [Even So, I Wish You Well], selected by the PNLD Literário (2021); and Minha vida não é cor-de-rosa [My Life Is Not Pink], winner of the National Library Award for Best Young Adult Novel (2019).

Tiago de Melo Andrade is a writer who lives in Uberaba (MG). Born in the city of São José do Rio Preto, in the countryside of São Paulo, he has always been a boy of books. Because of stories, he imagined he would be a mad scientist or an architect, but he ended up studying History and graduating in Law, a profession he never practiced. In 2000, he independently self-published his first book, A Caixa Preta [The Black Box], receiving the Jabuti Award the following year as "Best New Author". Among his released books are: Como subir em árvores [How to Climb Trees], selected by the PNLD Literário (2021); A história do vai e volta [The Story of Back and Forth] and O Mágico do Barro Preto [The Magician of Black Mud], both finalists for the Jabuti Award; and Abominável Risonho [Abominable Smiley], finalist for the Sesc Award – São Paulo.

Larissa de Souza was born in 1995, in the East Zone of São Paulo. She is a self-taught artist. Her first encounters with art happened in her childhood, in the housing occupation where she lived with her mother, and on graffiti murals. Today, her work, which explores the memory of her ancestry and the affections of her identity, is present at important art events. This is her first book.

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