Where stories come from

"In 1994, I was in South Africa for the first time and heard a variation of this tale from a local storyteller. Among many other stories I heard that night, this plot remained in my memory. In 2010, sixteen years later, I decided to adapt the tale into cordel verse, and it's always a fascinating exercise to observe how a story told generations ago by Zulu tribes manages to cross the Atlantic Ocean and fit so well into our very Brazilian cordel sextilhas. That's the charm of a good story: it's not restricted to one people, one time, or one place. It travels, transforms, and changes without losing its most precious gift: the ability to make us dream."

Author of books known for their themes linked to Brazilian folklore and popular culture - among them, Livro de sortes do cupido amoroso, published in 2012 by Bertrand Brasil -, winner of important literary awards, such as the Highly Recommended for Young People seal, from the National Foundation for Children's and Young Adult Books (FNLIJ) and member of the Brazilian Academy of Cordel Literature (ABLC), Fábio Sombra presents De onde nascem as histórias (Where Stories Are Born ), an adaptation into poetry of an ancient Zulu legend, in which the author transports this enchanting story to the world of cordel literature.

Nowazi and Sanele, an African couple, have a complicated problem to solve: where to find bedtime stories for their children? Determined, Nowazi leaves home and, after talking with an ostrich, a baboon monkey, an owl, and a giraffe, she ends up meeting a helpful giant hawk who will take her to an enchanted kingdom where the secret of stories is kept. But to discover it, Nowazi must first complete an important mission.