The karate girl’s red notebook

At the invitation of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian I’ve been on the jury of the Prémio Branquinho da Fonseca a number of times now (…). In 2011, The karate girl’s red notebook jumped out at me. Fresh, unpretentious, fun, full of rhythm and grace, a pleasure to read, it announces this young writer as someone capable of putting together her own personal projects. It was an honor for me to be one of the members of the jury which chose this book as the winner of the Branquinho da Fonseca Award.
Ana Maria Magalhães, Branquinho da Fonseca Award jury

Ana Pessoa has created a piece of literature with an engaging irony, an unpretentious rhythm and unexpected autobiographical grace. Somewhere between a journal and a chronicle, sharp and funny, brimming with personality, incorporating transitions which are at once complex and balanced, uneasy, deep, light and silly, all in just the right measure.

It’s no mean feat to write for children: to be genuine while writing in the first person as someone who is “already but not yet”, without falling into easy solutions or worn-out stereotypes.

Bernardo P. Carvalho’s illustrations – in a simple palette – accompany and expand, reveal and disguise, balance and echo, giving the text’s emotions more solidity and letting them breathe.
Paula Pina, Cria Cria blog

The karate girl’s red notebook is a book about N, a girl — oops, not a girl, a karate girl! — who buys a notebook and decides to write down her thoughts and observations. It’s a feast for your eyes, mind and heart.

Isabela Noronha, Garatujas fantásticas website, May 2013