Filamentos is pleased to highlight the release of O Coelhinho Branco / The White Rabbit, a bilingual children’s book published jointly by Bruma Publications and Letras Lavadas, and developed as a project of the Hub for Language Teaching and Learning at California State University, Fresno. More than a children’s book, this publication stands as a model for how language, culture, and pedagogy can meet with imagination, care, and scholarly intention.

Adapted from a traditional story included in Contos Populares Portugueses da Califórnia collected by Manuel da Costa Fontes, the tale of the White Rabbit reenters circulation here in a new form—accessible, visually engaging, and pedagogically purposeful. This transformation from oral tradition to bilingual children’s literature is at the heart of the project: preserving cultural memory while reshaping it for new generations growing up largely outside the Portuguese language.

The book was coordinated and authored by Jaydene Elvin, Cheryl Chan, Maria Eliza de Sousa Amadeo, and Diniz Borges, bringing together linguistic expertise, literary adaptation, and community-centered vision. The English–Portuguese bilingual text was translated by Maria Eliza de Sousa Amadeo, with careful revision by Jaydene Elvin, Cheryl Chan, and Diniz Borges, ensuring linguistic clarity, age-appropriate register, and pedagogical coherence across both languages. The illustrations by América Vázquez Guerrero play a crucial role in the book’s success: vibrant, expressive, and narratively supportive, they guide young readers through emotion, conflict, and resolution without overwhelming the text.

At a pedagogical level, O Coelhinho Branco / The White Rabbit exemplifies best practices in heritage language teaching. By pairing short, parallel sentences in Portuguese and English, the book supports emergent bilingualism, reinforces vocabulary acquisition, and invites shared reading between children, parents, and educators. The familiar narrative arc—loss, perseverance, cooperation, and justice—creates emotional accessibility, while repetition and dialogue foster oral language development.

Equally important is the book’s cultural mission. For Portuguese-American and Azorean-descended communities, especially in California, children’s literature in Portuguese remains scarce. This project addresses that gap directly, demonstrating how popular folktales can be reclaimed, adapted, and mobilized as tools for language maintenance and cultural continuity. Rather than treating folklore as static heritage, the book activates it as living material—something to be read aloud, questioned, laughed with, and learned from.

Published under the shared imprint of Bruma Publications and Letras Lavadas, O Coelhinho Branco / The White Rabbit also reflects a broader institutional commitment to educational publishing rooted in community needs. As part of the Hub for Language Teaching and Learning at Fresno State, the project affirms the role of universities not only as sites of research, but as active partners in sustaining multilingualism and diasporic cultures.

For Filamentos, this release is a reminder that the future of language often begins with a story—and that when scholarship, creativity, and cultural responsibility converge, even the smallest reader can find a place inside a larger map of belonging.

And perhaps this is the book’s quiet promise: that language, when offered early and with tenderness, becomes a place of shelter. In the small white rabbit reclaiming his home, in the patient ant whose ingenuity restores justice, young readers encounter more than a story—they encounter the first grammar of fairness, courage, and solidarity. Read aloud across kitchen tables, community halls, and classrooms, O Coelhinho Branco / The White Rabbit reminds us that heritage survives not through obligation, but through joy; that language is renewed each time a child claims it as their own; and that every story lovingly retold plants the hope of continuity in a world still learning how to listen.

The book can be ordered through Bruma Publications

Bruma Publications – Books for all Seasons distributed by IAAS.