From Another World

Discussing the issue of slavery is never easy or pleasant, but Ms. Machado has done an amazing job creating a way for children to learn and share their feelings on the history of slavery in Brazil through a ghost named Rosario. Four children, Mariano, Leo, Tete, and Elisa are the first to receive a visit from Rosario during the restoration of an old coffee plantation in rural Brazil. The children's parents are turning a family farm into a Bed and Breakfast Inn and all hands are needed to help finish the project. The children are allowed to sleep in the "Annex" of the farmhouse on weekends, and late one night the strange noises start. Little did they know that the "Annex" used to be the "Senzala" or slave quarters of the plantation? What followed the sounds was the floating image of a young African girl. At first she was very transparent, but with each visit she became for visible and she told the children the horrible story of her death and the deaths of all the slaves on this particular plantation. She had waited more than 100 years to tell her story to someone before she could go to another world to rest. She gave the children a mission to fulfill, to tell the story and to make sure that her little brother who had escaped death was honored. How the children handle these tasks is fascinating, and will hold the interest of many readers. The history of slavery in Brazil, and how the different races have blended give readers a history lesson as well as a suspenseful ghost story.