Amazonia

Amazonia is a book of Brazilian folk tales. Mermaids, serpents, tigers, snakes, flying men, witches — extraordinary creatures from the world’s most important jungle live on in these tales. The stories are fascinating, and sometimes startling, as protagonists are killed off or transformed into animals — or rise up precipitously into the heavens. More than just rollicking adventures, they offer a panorama of experience — conflict and death, love and seduction, greed and gluttony, hunting and fishing, cooking and caring for plants — and describe the origins of the natural world.

Origin

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home–and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life. Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin–a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Brazil the Land

Text and photographs portray Brazil’s geography and climate, city and rural life, industry, and transportation, focusing especially on the Amazon and the people and animals that live on the river.

Tales Of the Amazon: How the Munduruku Indians Live

A member of a local Amazon tribe takes readers deep into the heart of Brazil in this lavish picture book. First, we meet a young Munduruku boy and discover how he is trained in the sacred ways of a shaman. In the second part, the author recounts his journey to the city after growing up among the trees and animals of the jungle, describing what he found there and how the people he met treated him. Part three offers a portrait of Amazonian culture – how they live, their legends, and their language.

Dancing Turtle: A Folktale from Brazil

After being caught by a hunter, a clever turtle uses her wits and her talent playing the flute to trick the hunter’s children into helping her escape.

Jabuti The Tortoise: A Trickster Tale From The Amazon

Jabut’s shell was smooth and shiny, and the songs he played on his flute were sweet. But his music was a reminder, too, of the mischievous pranks Jabut sometimes played. When a concert takes place in heaven, Vulture offers to fly Jabut there . . . all the while plotting a trick of his own.

The Great Snake: Stories From The Amazon

As the Rio Afuá ferry wends its way along the Amazon, Sean Taylor takes in not only the sights and sounds of this extraordinary landscape but also the stories of the people he meets. From sly jaguars and the slowest of sloths to spine-tingling giant serpents and white-suited strangers, his retellings teem with legendary beings, vivid color, earthy comedy, and the mysteries of the rainforest. Together, with Fernando Vilela’s dramatic, color-saturated illustrations, they reveal the Amazon peoples’ beliefs and way of life. Notes and a glossary provide additional information about the region.