Juliana Barbassa
Juliana Barbassa is an award-winning independent journalist and the author of Dancing with the Devil in the City of God: Rio de Janeiro on the Brink, based on her years as Rio de Janeiro correspondent for the Associated Press.
Catarina Sobral
Translated from the Portuguese by Juliana Barbassa
A 2025 FOREWORD INDES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR FINALIST
Chaos and confusion ensue when a new word comes to town.
One day, a researcher makes an important discovery. A mysterious word buried in an old dictionary: ASHIMPA!
Quickly the news spreads. Everyone wants to use the new word, but no one knows what it means or even what part of speech it belongs to. A 137-year-old is certain that it’s a verb: people ashimped and would always ashimp. A linguist is convinced it’s a noun. Soon there would be people who claimed to have seen live ashimpas—and in color. “They still exist abroad. They’re green!”
From renowned Portuguese author and illustrator Catarina Sobral, Ashimpa is the story of language that takes on a life of its own, leading young readers through the hilariously ashimpish life and grammar of a mysterious word.
Ages 4+ | Hardcover | 40 pages | ISBN: 9798893380026
May 13, 2025