For the Love of Picture Books


INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS & LITERARY CONSULTING

I work with independent publishers, auhtors, and illustrators to bring distinctive picture books to new languages and readers, through international rights, translation, and editorial collaboration.

An independent Brazilian publisher dedicated to picture books and illustrated literature, with a catalogue distinguished by artistic literary experimentation and exceptional illustration. Selected titles available for English and French-language publication in Canada.

ÔZé Editora

CURRENTLY REPRESENTING

Publishing, Books & Storytelling

WHAT I DO

Working at the intersection of picture books, storytelling, and international publishing.

International Rights & Representation

Representing independent publishers to bring picture books to new readers.

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English & Portuguese Translation

Literray and editorial translation with attention to voice, nuance, and cultural context.

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Thoughtful reviews and features on distinctive picture books, illustration, and visual storytelling.

Book Reviews

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Storytelling and collaborations centered on picture books and the shared experience of stories.

Storytelling

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Mama Reads

This space is dedicated to the art of learning and expanding our imagination through soulful picture books. This is where you can find book reviews and occasional musings on life.

Hi, I’m Marina Prado, a literary consultant, rights representative, and founder of Mama Reads. With a background in anthropology and children’s publishing, my work is rooted in a longstanding interest in books as spaces for creative cultural exchange and connection.

Picture books are an invitation to travel, through time and space; a life giving expression of what it means to be human; a learning experience; and a way for us to feel connected to one another and to the subtleties of our existence. I believe storytelling is both art and activism. And that a single picturebook can affect the way we sees ourselves in the world- and our sense of belonging in it.

About


  • "Great ideas, it has been said, come into the world as gently as doves. Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear, amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, the gentle stirring of life and hope."

    - Albert Camus -

  • "Picture books, in the present era, enjoy a status as a culture form to be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a precious and versatile art that has already left the confines of paper behind, shattering the boundaries of its own genre and fusing with various other forms of art and imagery."

    - CJ Picture Book Festival in South Korea Manifesto -

  • "To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled is a spark."

    - Victor Hugo -

  • "I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage."

    - Roald Dahl -

  • "Damn everything but the circus!"

    e. e. cummings

  • "There are three ways of writing for children... the third way, which is the only one I could ever use myself, consists of writing a children's story because a children's story is the best art form for something you have to say"

    - C.S. Lewis -

  • "The picture book, which appears to be the cosiest and most gentle of genres, actually produces the greatest social and aesthetic tensions in the whole field of children's literature."

    - Sheila Egoff -

Follow Mama Reads along on Instagram for stories about picture books and the creatives behind their making. This is also where I share occasional musings on life & inspiration I find.