Ashimpa
Ashimpa
Catarina Sobral
Translated from the Portuguese by Juliana Barbassa
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
"A tongue-in-cheek treatise on the elasticity of language, Sobral’s latest sparkles with profound wit thanks to a wonderfully bizarre premise...Ashimpishly delicious fun."—Kirkus Reviews
"In this absurdist grammatical romp, Sobral, making her U.S. debut, imagines what happens after a once-lost word is mysteriously rediscovered."—Publishers Weekly
"When a researcher discovers a new word—'ashimpa'—everyone has an opinion on what it is. Some are ashimpishly certain it’s an adverb; others insist it’s a noun and search for an ashimpa for their table... [A] fanciful primer on the parts—and the silliness—of speech."—Foreword Reviews
“A wacky adventure perfect for any young wordsmith and a great early literacy builder, complete with primary-color illustrations that immediately reminded me of a Pedro Almodóvar film! Love. PS: the clever ending made me laugh out loud.”—Taylor Carlton, Brazos Bookstore (Houston, TX)