To all the boys and girls who know how to be brave and help others.
Nights at Cleo’s house were always a blast.
Every time Pingo and Tom would have a sleepover at our little Cuca’s house, the fun was never-ending. Everyone would slip into their pajamas – including Pingo – and spend the night eating cookies, making up games, and chitchatting.
Cleo loved to show off to her friends the new spells she’d learned from the book Saci had brought her.
On one of those playful nights, Cleo figured out a way to change the color of Tom’s hair.
— Now green! – she said, waving her hand all over the place. And bam! Tom’s hair turned green.
— Now blue!
Tom was having a blast. For each color, he’d make up a new dance. And it was always his own crazy way of dancing, twisting his Curupira feet.
— Now pink!
— Hey, not that one! Pink is a girly color! – said Tom.
— I’ m the Cuca here! I’ m the one who picks the colors!
And bam! Tom’s hair looked like strawberry ice cream. Pingo laughed and laughed.
Cleo thought she was the happiest girl in the world to have such special friends as Pingo and Tom. A Mapinguari inside the house! Who would have thought?
WHO ARE THE ENCHANTED ONES?
Mapinguari, Cuca, Curupira, Iara, and the porpoise are all mythological characters of Brazilian folklore, like Boitatá, the headless mule, the werewolf, and many others. In the Brazilian countryside, they are the “enchanted ones”: neither human nor animal, but creatures that exist through the art of enchantment or magic. In other words, they are the fruits of our people’s imagination. They are a way that Brazilians have found, in the past, to explain mysterious noises that sometimes are heard in the woods and can’t be explained. Since no one has ever seen an
enchanted one and there is no proof, many say they don’t exist.
In Brazil, however, many people believe in the enchanted ones. If someone gets lost in the woods or gets hurt, they say it’s because of them. But rest assured: legend has it that the enchanted ones only harm those that disrespect nature. For many people, they protect the forest against hunters and those who cut down our trees. That is why the enchanted ones are so frightening: they’re supposed to scare those who have no respect for mother nature!
NOW, LET’S LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ENCHANTED ONES WHO INSPIRED THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK.
MAPINGUARI
He is the most famous of Amazonian monsters. The caboclos living in Northern Brazil describe Mapinguari as a hairy giant whose whole body is bulletproof. Some versions of the legend say his mouth is in his belly, and he uses it to devour hunters.
CUCA
There are many different kinds of Cucas in Brazil: some are alligators, others are old women and even the boogeyman. Her shape varies, but it’s always the same: a haunting that snatches up children who disobey their parents. Cuca snatches up babies who don’t want to sleep, puts them in a bag, and takes them to the forest.
CURUPIRA
Legend has it that Curupira is a red-haired dwarf who has his feet turned backwards. They say it’s to fool hunters who try to track his footsteps. As a matter o fact, the Curupira is every hunter’s doom: he knows many different spells and loves to lead men into getting lost in the woods.
IARA
This is a half-fish, half-girl enchanted being, a siren who lives in the river. They say her singing can hypnotize and lure people into the bottom of the river, from which they never return.
PORPOISE
Like Iara, porpoises don’t have the best of reputations! Many believe they turn into a handsome young man to seduce women, but the truth is all they want to do is to help boats that get lost in the river.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In this second volume of the adventures of Cleo and her friends, the protagonist girl finds out more about her own magical powers, and ultimately about herself. In the book, Cleo comes to term and is happier with her fate of being a Cuca girl, but is still oblivious to the transformations that await her. Her meeting with the Iaras – the mermaids of the collective imagination in Brazilian folklore – will be very revealing to Cleo. With the help of her friends, Curupira and Mapinguari, the young Cuca will learn important lessons in solidarity, tolerance, and self-acceptance.
For more than fifty years, our fantastic beings have been explored in literary and informative works destined to children and young boys and girls. The adventures of Cleo and her friends represent a small, albeit important contribution to the dissemination of Brazilian culture.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS
Colorful, but soft; strong, but delicate. So are the illustrations of this book, revealing to young readers all of the countless possibilities of representing the enchanted beings of Brazilian folklore.
There are three main colors in the illustrations: green, orange, and purple. This composition helps emphasize details at the same time subtle and important to characterize the ambiance and characters of the story. Green and purple tones permeate Cleo’s clothes, the vegetation, and even the sky, as delicate as the waters of the river where the mermaids live. A strong orange, almost red, pops out in Tom’s fiery hair and in the sunset. And Pingo – the big and warmhearted child – has brown fur like the trees of the forest of which he is so fond.
In addition, the illustrations were also designed to express the emotions of the characters and the tension in the plot. When Cleo and the mermaids first enter the cave, it is a dark and narrow place. Later on, when the porpoise is healed, it shines in tones of green and blue.
The illustrations in Cleo’s adventures were created to touch, thrill and broaden our references and our imagination, creating a universe where the fantastic element of the narrative becomes possible.
TIPS TO READ AND EXPLORE THE BOOK
• Discuss with other readers what is already known about Cuca, Mapinguari, Curupira, and Iara.
• Commenting on other characters of Brazilian folklore.
• Comparing the traits of the characters explored in this book with those shown in other works and even in television shows or movies.
• Researching in books and online about these characters and their relevance in national folklore.
• Organizing, at home or at school, a gallery of fantastic beings similar to the one featured at the end of the book.
• Creating a school play of the story with colleagues.
• And especially reflecting upon the value of friendship and the importance of helping others.
Cleo and her friends, Tom and Pingo, are back on a fun new adventure. During a camping trip in the woods, Cleo goes through a mysterious transformation. She was no longer a girl with an alligator tail, but a full-blown Cuca from head to toe. She knew this would happen one day, but she still can’t hold back her tears. Cleo felt different and it seemed like the whole forest was talking to her. That’s when she heard a special call, the call of the sirens!
